The Prophecy
by QueenofOld
Summary: AU ROGAN! She's a mutant, prophesied to carry a child that will end the world as they know it. Logan is her guardian, responsible for protecting her from the evil cult that is being led by none other than Victor Creed, "the dark one". Read my AN!
1. Chapter 1

**Rating: M**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!  
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**A/N: This story was inspired by many elements. The first was a roleplay I participated in years ago. The second was the movie "The Terminator", the third, most recent one is the "Legion" movie...I've taken inspiration from everywhere. **

**Other things you need to know:  
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**Liev Schrieber Victor plays this Victor. **

**This is AU, so none of the movies are relevant (just pretend none of them happened and we're in our weird, alternate universe).**

**Don't be offended by any of the religious undertones in this, no harm is meant.**

**I know it may seem far fetched at some points, but I think it would be interesting to see how supernatural elements would play a part in the X Men universe.  
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**Marie D'Ancanto sighed as she brushed her hair off her forehead and picked up the last of the dirty dishes off of the vacant table in the diner. She'd been working at that crappy place since shortly after arriving in Laughlin City a year ago when she was nothing more than a scared, seventeen year old runaway.

Marie had been banished from her home town when her "curse" reared its ugly head. Of course, she knew that her affliction was a little less supernatural than the over zealous, religious townsfolk thought.

They'd heard of people who had "powers", but in her small Mississippi town, different meant bad. Just ask any unfortunate minority who tried to move there.

After the white streaks began forming in her hair, even her parents could no longer stand the sight of her...so she ran away.

Laughlin City was as far as she could afford to go. The first man she met there was a cage fighter named Logan. He was a gruff man of few words, but for some reason, he was kind to her in his own, simplistic way.

He frequently left town for destinations unknown, but whenever he did come back, he'd come by the diner and take a seat in the corner booth, where he'd order a few things off the menu, then just sit and stare at her as she worked for hours.

For a while, she thought it was unsettling, but after a few months, she got used to it and attempted to make small talk with the very quiet, very growly man.

Some time after arriving in her cold new home, Marie learned how to control her mutation. There was no trick to it...no magic and no formula, she just trained herself to turn it off and on the same way she'd heard of mutants who could phase and teleport had.

Luckily, she knew could use her mutation as a weapon. That came in handy on nights like tonight, when she was busy closing up the diner by herself. Marie was ready to call it quits and go home after being on her feet for more than 12 hours straight.

She was in the kitchen, rinsing off the last of her dishes when she heard the dinging of the bell that hung over the front door of the diner.

Funny...she thought she'd locked that door.

Marie grumbled without looking up, "We're closed."

She heard heavy footsteps make their way over to the counter as she grumbled and exited the kitchen to confront the stranger who had so rudely disregarded the "Closed" sign hanging in the window.

Marie began drying her hands on the towel attached to her apron, "Look...we're clo-"

Her voice trailed off as she came face to face with the mysteriously handsome stranger, but she soon regained her composure and cleared her throat, "Um...sorry, we're closed."

The stranger grinned, "You wouldn't turn away a cold, hungry traveler, would ya?"

Marie crossed her arms, "And you wouldn't force a tired, hard workin' waitress to work even longer than her 12 hour shift...would ya?"

He smirked, "Well, sorry. I didn't realize...I just didn't see anything else for miles and thought I'd found salvation when I saw the light on in this place..."

She sighed and looked at him long and hard as his eyes twinkled. Marie felt almost as if she was falling under some sort of spell. Normally, she would have told him to get the hell out and gone home, but instead, she found herself murmuring, "I might have some coffee and donuts left in the back."

He just raised a brow and took off his heavy coat as she disappeared into the back. As soon as she was out of sight, she quickly straightened out her appearance as best she could, brushing her hair out of her face and straightening out her apron.

Within minutes, she returned to set a plate of donuts and a steaming pot of coffee down next to the stranger.

He watched her intently as she poured some coffee into a mug and pushed the plate of donuts over. After a few seconds, the staring grew a little unsettling, so she looked up and raised her eyebrows, "What?"

"I was just wondering about those white streaks in your hair, Marie."

Her hand absently wandered to her head, "It started growin' in-wait...how'd you know my name?"

The stranger's eyes started to widen, but he motioned toward her name tag, "It's right there."

Marie blushed and let out a small chuckle, "Oh...right."

He took a sip of dark coffee, "My name's Victor. You sure don't sound like you're from here, Marie."

"I'm not...I'm from Mississippi. Not many people 'round these parts can appreciate a southern accent."

Victor nodded, "I happen to like your accent...very much."

She blushed again, then poured herself a cup of coffee and eyed him carefully, "You just passin' through Victor?"

"Yeah, I was heading down to Calgary, but I dunno...something in the wind blew me your way."

Marie raised a brow and tried to keep from smiling too wide. She was definitely intrigued by this one. In her time working at the diner, she'd been hit on by many lonely traveling men, but none of them had ever tickled her fancy the way this Victor did.

He was handsome, charming, well put together and exuded sex appeal that made her want to melt into a pile of warm goo.

They talked for several moments, but the sound of a vehicle pulling into the back parking lot made Victor jump up, stalk over to the window and grumble. He quickly pulled out a hundred dollar bill and his business card, "I'd really like to see you again, Marie. I'll be back this way soon...but, if you're ever in need of a change of scenery, you can look me up in Calgary."

She slowly nodded and pocketed the card and money as she watched him rush out to his car, then peel out of the parking lot. Almost as soon as he left, Logan walked in from the back entrance.

Marie smiled confusedly, "Logan, what are you doin' here?"

He started to answer her question, but he slowly sniffed the air and rushed over to the window, "Who was here with you?"

"Just a passer through..."

Logan turned back around, "It's after closing, why'd you let him stay? Why aren't any of the doors locked?"

Marie stuttered at his sudden barrage of questions, "I-I thought that one was locked but-"

He grabbed her coat off the rack and handed it to her, "You've gotta be careful when you're alone here, kid. There are a lot of bad people out there. I'll give you a ride home."

Marie slowly took her coat from him and put it on before allowing him to lead her to his old, beat up camper. Although Logan wasn't her best or closest friend in the whole world, he'd been her _only _friend for the past year. He'd given her rides home and protected her from overly grabby male patrons who'd had a little too much to drink. In truth, he was the only person she currently trusted.

Logan drove them to her trailer without saying a word. He definitely seemed more bothered than usual.

When they arrived at her trailer, he watched as she started to get out, but soon stopped her, "Marie...you remember the name of the man who was there with you tonight?"

She nodded, "Yeah...Victor. He didn't give me his last name though."

Upon hearing the name, Logan tensed visibly, but Marie didn't notice. She sighed and hopped out of the camper, "Thanks for the ride, Logan. You gonna fight at Murphy's tomorrow?"

"Uh...yeah, I'll be in the cage."

Marie smiled, "Well, you be sure to stop by the diner afterwards. I'll make sure I have a hot meal waitin' for you."

He couldn't bring himself to smile, so he gave a brief nod as he watched her close his door, then head into her trailer.

As soon as her door was closed, Logan put his head against the steering wheel and sighed.

It had started...he'd found her.

He began driving around the town, looking for unfamiliar vehicles and circling around her trailer park for any sign of danger. Luckily, he found none...

When Logan arrived back at his motel, he'd put in a call to Professor Charles Xavier, his mentor and the leader of the X Men, a group of mutants who made it their life's mission to protect the world from evil.

About two years ago, the X Men discovered that a group of evil mutants started to mobilize and form a cult based off of a thousand year old prophecy.

At first, Charles was sure that the cult's prophetic teachings held no credibility because it simply sounded ridiculous.

It taught that, during the year of a winter solstice lunar eclipse, an innocent young mutant with white streaked hair would conceive a child with "the dark one". The child's powers would be unsurpassed, unstable and uncontrollable. It would be the leader of a mutant revolution that would eradicate all human kind.

Logan actually remembered laughing out loud when Chuck had explained the cult's beliefs to him.

Just a few months later, Logan was in the cage at Murphy's in Laughlin City when he looked up and saw her. The wide eyed, innocent beauty with white streaked hair. He could only assume that she was a mutant since she was so quiet and kept a fair amount of distance between herself and others.

Logan secretly snapped a cell phone picture of Marie and sent it to the professor under the heading "might wanna take a closer look into that cult crap".

He immediately received a call back from the professor, asking him to keep an eye on her while he did more research.

At first, Logan wasn't too keen on the idea, but soon, it was apparent that he was taken with her. He helped her land a job and checked up on her constantly.

Logan often found himself sitting outside of her trailer under the guise of "protecting" her...but he was pretty sure he didn't have to watch her while she undressed to protect her.

When he did receive a call back from the professor, he sounded ragged and worried, "It's true...it's all true."

The professor was a scholar...an educated man who only believed in logic. To hear that he actually believed in some weird cult prophecy threw Logan for a loop, "Shit...are you serious?"

The professor sighed, "She is the one. They will come for her...I'm just not sure when. Logan...you have to protect her."

Logan groaned, "From who? Do these people wear name tags? Do they all wear uniforms with labels saying 'hey, I'm a mutant cult member here to kidnap the future mother of the destroyer of the world'? No offense, Chuck...but this shit sounds ridiculous."

"Be that as it may, Logan, there are just one too many coincidences surrounding this young lady. Scott, Ororo, Jean and I are all researching as much information as possible. In the meantime, we just need you to make sure she's safe. Even if the prophecy isn't true, the cult will still come after her and she will be subject to their intentions."

It didn't take long before the professor came up with a name for the so-called "dark one". He wasn't exactly lying low.

Victor Creed was the head of a successful manufacturing company and he frequently traveled to Canada for business.

Everyone knew it was only a matter of time before he found her...

It was rumored that he used to go by the alias "Sabretooth" and he was once more animal than man, but those claims were more myth than fact. He was thought to be hundreds of years old and the only way he could be killed is if his head was cut off...Logan didn't seem intimidated at all.

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Logan stood in his hotel room, on the phone with the professor, "Chuck...Victor found her. He was actually alone with her."

"Oh dear god...did anything happen?"

Logan paced back and forth in his room, "No."

"Are you certain?"

"I'm certain, Chuck, trust me. I know the smell of sex, besides, she just met him. I can tell she hasn't let her guard down yet."

A sigh was heard on the other end, "I know taking her by force is an option for him, but he needs her to be willing so that she won't think of aborting the baby. You have to keep a closer eye on her...you must get her to trust you. Victor is cunning. He'll distance her from her only friends, make her feel vulnerable, then strike like a snake. Make her trust you."

"I don't know how easy that's gonna be-"

"Logan, we're out of time. We're not even sure how long he was alone with her...all it takes is one more time...just a few minutes alone with him and the child could be conceived. Victor only has until the solstice to impregnate her."

He ran a hand through his hair, "I'll try to think of something...I'll call you back."

That night, as Logan was pouring over plans in his motel room, Marie was tossing and turning in bed, unable to get the mysterious and sexy Victor out of her mind. Whenever she did fall asleep, erotic dreams began invading her mind.

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**No flames/abuse please! Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi all! Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews to this story! Response has been much more positive than I expected, so I'm thanking all of you lovely early reviewers with not one, but two chapter updates, one after the other! So after you read this, check your inbox again and find that you will have another chapter to check out! I hope you enjoy!**

**Another note: Not much Marie/Logan interaction in these next two chapters, but you will get some Marie/Victor! Don't worry, Rogan interaction is on its way!  
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_**TWO WEEKS LATER...**_

Marie felt as though she'd just laid down in bed when she heard her phone ring. She groaned and rolled over, stealing a glance at her alarm clock to realize that it was barely 6 in the morning. No wonder she felt like she just went to sleep...she _had_.

"What?" she croaked as she snatched her phone to her ear and rubbed her eyes.

The voice on the other end was recognizable, "Marie, get your ass up. I need you to open."

She furrowed her eyebrows, "Say wha-!"

"Jane is nowhere to be found, I need you to high tail it over to the diner."

Marie put her hand over her face, "Earl, I closed last night."

"Do I sound like I give a damn? You get your ass to the diner or you start looking for a new job!"

She sucked her teeth as he hung up in her face.

Marie swung her legs out of bed and began grumbling curse words as she stomped to her bathroom and turned on the shower. Her bad morning was made worst when the pitiful shower head barely provided enough pressure to wet her hair. She'd have to remind her lazy ass landlord to fix it...again.

After a frustrating shower, she walked back into her bedroom and stubbed her toe on the edge of her bed. As she hissed and hopped back to the bed, holding her throbbing foot, she cursed her life and what it had come to.

As she sat on the edge of her bed and surveyed the bruise forming on her toe, she glanced down and saw the small white card hanging out of her purse. Suddenly, something inside of her clicked.

What was she hanging around here for? A month to month lease on a falling apart trailer and a shitty job?

Before she could talk herself out of it, she'd grabbed her large bag out of the closet and started shoving clothes and toiletries in it.

As she called the bus station to see when the next bus was leaving to Calgary, she jotted down a note to Logan, her only friend in that God forsaken town. She knew he'd wonder where she disappeared to, so she made sure to leave him her number and whereabouts.

Within two hours, she was giving Laughlin City the finger and boarding a bus to Calgary.

Maybe she'd run into Victor there...

As she watched the scenery pass by while riding on the bus, she looked back down at the card.

"Creed Industries..." she murmured, then flipped it over. Her eyes widened as she looked at the name on the back. "Victor...Creed..."

Marie had no idea Victor was Victor Creed...**the** Victor Creed of Creed Industries.

* * *

Victor grumbled as he sat in his expansive, high rise office, cutting his nails. The problem with his claws were, he could grow them on command, but couldn't retract them, so he had to keep them trimmed to keep from freaking people out.

When he heard a knock on the door, he tossed the clippers back into his desk drawer, "Come in!"

His secretary, Raven, sauntered in and tossed a file onto his desk, "She's on the move."

Victor sat up and snatched the file open to look at the surveillance pictures of Marie boarding a bus. He cock jumped in his pants...every fiber of his being wanted her...needed her.

Raven rolled her eyes as she noticed his breathing quicken and watched him run a finger over the picture.

"Where's she headed?" he asked.

"Here."

Victor looked up with raised eyebrows and smiled, "Well, well, well...this might be easier than I thought."

His secretary sighed and began laying out messages on his desk. He noticed her bad attitude and crossed his arms.

She'd gotten seriously bitchy ever since he stopped having sex with her when the news that his prophetic mate had surfaced. He'd been waiting lifetimes for her and now, he would touch no one but her. As soon as he saw her picture for the first time, a desire was instilled within him that was so strong, it took over his entire being...just as it should.

"Make sure the surveillance team stays on her when she gets here. I wanna bump into her...soon."

Raven jotted down a note and nodded, "Anything else?"

Victor shook his head and waved her off.

As soon as the door was closed, he pressed a button on his desk that locked it, then quickly opened his pants. He sat back in his luxurious leather desk chair and closed his eyes as he took himself in his own hand, imagining Marie there with him.

He pictured her standing in his office, looking slightly unsure as he ran a hand down her body. One whiff of her scent told her that this was right...this was it. He could smell her ovulating. Her body was fresh and ripe. Ready for his taking and primed to conceive.

Just as he was picturing himself ripping off her clothes, Raven knocked on his door again. He cursed, stowed himself away and stalked over to the door to snatch it open.

"What?" he barked.

Raven must've known how mad he was for the interruption because she was trembling. She held up another picture, "Uh...the surveillance team said he's in Laughlin City and he's probably gonna follow her here. He knows where our offices are."

Victor cursed and glared down at the picture, "Logan..."

He knew the X Men were going to try to swoop in and save the day. He just didn't know they would use Logan...a feral who was just as dangerous and determined as Victor himself.

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The evening after Marie left Laughlin City, Logan showed up at the diner for Marie's promised "hot meal". He was confused to find one of the other waitresses, Leslie, working alone.

"Hey Les, Marie around?" he asked.

She shook her head, "Earl called her this mornin', told her to come in to open, but no one's heard from her since."

Logan rushed out of the diner and hopped in his camper before rushing to Marie's trailer.

There, he found the note she left him. It read...

_Hey Logan, _

_Sorry I didn't get a chance to say an appropriate goodbye, but I had to get the hell outta this place. I'm probably heading to Calgary. Look me up if you're ever there. __I appreciate everything and wish we could have spent more time together, but I know how busy you always were._

_I hope to see you again sometime..._

_- Marie_

Logan pushed the beat up camper to its limit as he sped down the highway. There was no telling how much of a head start she had on him. In Laughlin City, he had a shot in hell of keeping Victor away from her. All faces were pretty familiar and he knew the entire town like the back of his hand.

Now, Marie was going to be in Victor's large, metropolitan playground.

He cursed to himself and shook his head. He had almost an entire year to get close to her...but he wasted it all away because he was afraid of getting too close to the young, pretty girl.

Bad things happened to the women Logan was around. His last relationship ended with his fiance and unborn child murdered. Obviously, Marie was the worst prospect out there, seeing as she was prophesied to carry the child of an evil, power hungry mutant.

The first time he met her, he marveled at how beautiful she was, inside and out. Her heart was kind and genuine, and, despite her sadness when they first met, her eyes sparkled and drew him right in.

He asked Chuck to send someone else up to protect her to avoid a "complicated situation", but Charles refused, knowing any of his other trusted X Men would stick out like sore thumbs in a town made up of lumber jacks.

Even if he couldn't have her, he had to make sure Victor didn't either. She was too good for what this so-called prophecy had in store for her. She deserved more...

* * *

It was after dark when Marie's bus finally pulled into the station in downtown Calgary. It was a beautiful city, but even Disney World could be frightening at night, so she quickly went about the business of finding shelter.

Luckily, a Holiday Inn was nearby, so she checked in and showered.

Marie laid down in the strange room and stared at the ceiling.

As soon as she fell asleep, she saw Victor, ripping off her clothes, licking up and down her body and forcing his way inside of her. Marie arched and moaned his name in her sleep as her body writhed around the bed, desperately in need of his rough, lustful touches.

Across the street, in an abandoned building, Victor's hired telepath sat with a surveillance team as she forced the erotic visions into Marie's dreams.

When Marie woke up the next morning, she had to take a cold shower. She'd never been horny like this before.

Of course, she had needs and wants like any other woman, but she was a virgin and wanted her first time to be special with someone she deeply cared about. This sudden uprise in lust within her was surprising.

She got dressed and went out to explore her new "home" and maybe find a job.

Marie began strolling the city, not really giving much thought to her direction until she stumbled upon a large high rise building with the sign "Creed Industries" out front.

"Well call this a coincidence..." she murmured as she contemplated going inside.

Her train of thought was interrupted when she suddenly spotted Victor coming out of the revolving door, dressed in a suit and a brief case in hand.

Marie's eyes widened as he looked down at his watch and began walking toward her. She quickly turned around, feeling stupid. Why would an important man like him remember some chick from a diner he met weeks ago?

The sound of her name being called surprised her, making her quickly spin around. The spin made her purse swing and hit another suited man, knocking a file clean out of his hands. The man cursed and quickly knelt down to pick up his papers.

Marie apologized and knelt to help him, but he rudely shooed her away.

"I'm really sorry...I'm so so sorry."

"Well you should be! It took me all morning to prepare this damn report. My boss is gonna kill me!" the man snapped.

Before Marie could say any more, Victor approached, "That's not how we talk to ladies...is it Kevin?"

The man, now identified as Kevin, finished picking up his papers as he stared wide eyed at Victor, "N-n-no sir..."

Victor narrowed his eyes and took another step toward him, "Now apologize..."

Kevin stuttered and cowered in Victor's shadow, "I-I-I'm s-s-sorry ma'am...very sorry..."

"It's OK-" but before Marie could say anymore, Kevin scurried away with his out of order papers in hand.

Marie finally turned to fully face Victor and almost gasped. It felt like a jolt of electricity shot straight through her. How could one man have such an affect on her?

"Hey..." she almost whispered as a blush crept across her face.

Victor smiled, "Hello Marie."

She let out a breath as she stared up into his green eyes, "You...you remembered my name?"

"How could I forget it? What brings you to Calgary?"

Marie fidgeted for a second, "Well...I guess I got tired of Laughlin City...just got here last night."

"I'm glad you decided to join the land of the living. This is a beautiful place...I'm sure you'll make a nice life here."

She nodded, "It's a gorgeous place."

He raised a brow, "Well, you probably need someone to show you around the city then..."

"Oh, I know you must be busy...I wouldn't want to impose-"

Victor shook his head and cut her off, "I'd love to take you out tonight...if you'd let me."

Marie stared at him for a few moments, then nodded, "OK...alright...thank you."

He smiled, "Where are you staying? I'll pick you up."

She blushed and looked down, "Um...the Holiday Inn on Hopewell..."

A soft, knowing smile crept over his face, "Alright...I'll pick you up tonight at 8."

As Victor slid into his awaiting town car, he got on the phone, "Raven, I just ran into her...get her a reservation at The Fairmont Palliser."

"But sir, there's a convention in town, it might be completely full!"

He growled into the phone, "I don't fucking care how booked it is, bribe them if you have to! The mother of my child is not going to stay in a damn Holiday Inn! She needs to be in a luxury suite by the end of the day."

"Yes sir."

"Oh and Raven...I hope you're in the mood for some shopping."

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**Review please! How are you liking my AU story?**


	3. Chapter 3

Marie was on such an emotional high from her impending date with Victor, she decided to explore the city for a couple of hours.

When she walked into the lobby of her hotel, a man wearing a chauffeur's uniform approached her, "Excuse me, Ms. D'Ancanto?"

She eyed the man cautiously, "Yes?"

"Mr. Creed sent me. I'm here to take you to your hotel."

Marie almost laughed, "I am at my hotel."

He smiled, "Mr. Creed believes you'd be more comfortable elsewhere."

She furrowed her eyebrows, "Um...I dunno..."

"Please, Ms. D'Ancanto...I'll get fired if you don't come."

Her eyes widened, "Well...OK. I just have to go get my bag."

"Don't worry, miss, I'll take care of it."

Ten minutes later, she was in the back of a limousine as the driver loaded her bag into the trunk. When he took his place in the driver's seat, she smirked, "You wouldn't have really gotten fired if I didn't come with you, would you?"

The driver glanced over his shoulder and smirked, "No ma'am."

It took them about forty minutes to get to their destination, which turned out to be an overly fancy hotel she didn't quite feel comfortable walking into with her ratty duffle bag.

Despite the fact that she didn't look like she belonged there, the concierge and bellman were very nice when they escorted her to a spacious suite on one of the top levels of the hotel.

"If you should require anything else, please...do not hesitate to ask. Mr. Creed has requested that you be well taken care of."

Marie smiled, thanked the man and watched as he left. She wasn't sure how comfortable she was with accepting all this "special treatment" from Victor, but she was pretty sure she saw a mouse in hotel room the night before, so she just decided to take a chance and go with it.

When she got out of the shower that afternoon in preparation for her date with Victor, she heard a knock on her door. She dressed herself in the plush robe the hotel provided and answered the door.

The concierge stood there with a bellman, holding a dozen red roses, a shopping bag and a garment bag with the name "Gucci" embossed on them.

"Mr. Creed sent over some items you may want to wear tonight. He hopes everything is the appropriate size and to your liking. If you would like, we can send someone up from our in-house salon to assist with your hair and make up"

Marie barely remembered to nod her head as her mouth hung open while she stared at the Gucci label on the bag. She'd never seen Gucci clothing and accessories in real life before. She never ever thought she'd actually have the opportunity to wear such expensive clothing.

When they were gone, Marie opened the garment bag to find a beautiful black strapless dress with lace overlay and belted waist. The shoes were black, sequin studded peep toe heels that were just over three inches high.

Soon, the make up and hair stylists arrived to doll her up. Her long hair was given a much needed trim, then layered, parted down the middle and given large waves that hung down the front of her chest and down her back.

She looked red carpet ready.

Just a few moments after the stylists left, she was called and told her car was waiting for her. She grabbed the wrap that came with her dress and made her way downstairs. As soon as she got off the elevator, she spotted Victor standing in the lobby with a single white rose.

He stared at her appreciatively and approached, handing her the flower, "You look amazing."

Marie nodded, "Well, I would be wearing some ratty jeans and a pony tail if it weren't for you."

"But you'd still be just as much of a knock out."

A deep blush spread across her face, "You've definitely got a way with the ladies, huh?"

Victor held up his arm, inviting her to take it before escorting her to the front of the hotel to an awaiting limo.

During the drive, he sat next to her and just stared, making her nervously fiddle with the flower stem. Eventually, she cleared her throat and looked at him, "Um...Victor, I appreciate everything you've done for me...the hotel, the expensive clothes, the hair, the make up...guys don't usually do this because they're good samaritans. I'm starting to feel like Julia Roberts in 'Pretty Woman'."

He let out a low chuckle before looking into her eyes, "I do have to admit, I believe you're the most beautiful woman I've ever had the privilege of meeting. Not to brag, but I've got a lot of money and I don't always spend it on the smartest things...you seem like a wonderful reason to spend plenty of my hard earned cash."

When she felt Victor brush a piece of hair out of her face, she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, feeling a rush of warmth surge through her body.

She opened her eyes to stare into his, "Why me?"

He cupped her face in his hand and leaned in, "I've been dreaming about you since before I met you."

And suddenly, his lips were touching hers in a kiss that started out gently, but soon grew hungry and intense. She'd only ever kissed one other person before, so it was surprise when her lips and tongue somehow knew exactly what to do.

Despite the fact that part of her mind was reminding her that she didn't just go around kissing men she barely knew, she didn't want to stop...she_ couldn't_ stop. She was prepared to straddle him right there in that limo, but the sudden absence of his lips upon hers made her sigh and move to grasp his collar to pull his face back to hers.

He laughed softly and gently took her hands, "We're at the restaurant."

"What?" she whispered breathlessly as she looked out the window. Indeed, the limo had stopped in front of a fancy restaurant and the driver stood there, holding the door open, desperately attempting to keep his eyes off of the couple who was obviously on the cusp of making love in the back of his limousine.

Marie couldn't figure out how in the world she didn't realize that the limo had stopped, that a door had been opened AND that a stranger was looking at them.

Damn...what was this man doing to her?

Marie cleared her throat and stood before getting out of the limo with Victor, then allowing him to lead her into the restaurant, which was particularly crowded.

She thought they'd end up having to wait, but, to her surprise, they were led directly to an awaiting booth in the corner of the restaurant.

They made small talk, but for the most part, he stared at her. When they were eating dessert, Victor leaned over and planted a gentle, discreet kiss on her neck that set her entire body ablaze with desire.

He whispered in her ear, "I've never wanted anything or anyone more than I want you right now..."

Her eyes rolled closed as her breathing quickened and her panties dampened, "Oh god...Victor..."

Victor smirked, "You wanna get outta here?"

She nodded quickly as he threw his hand up to call their waiter over.

Within ten minutes, they were back inside of the limo, making out. Victor raised the partition between them and the driver before pushing her back against the seat and moving atop her.

Marie opened her legs around his waist as he pressed himself against her and moaned against her lips.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she couldn't help but feel that this was wrong...this wasn't her. She broke the kiss and looked up into his eyes.

He panted, "Somethin' wrong?"

"No", she lied, "I just...I'm a-"

"...A virgin", he finished for her.

She nodded and blushed, "And I'm not sure if my first time should be in the back of a limo with a man I've only been on one date with."

Victor tried not to growl in frustration, and instead, plastered a fake, patient smile across his face. He moved from atop her and cleared his throat, "I really like you, Marie...I think you're special. Don't you want me?"

Marie reached to touch his face, but stopped herself and bit her lip, "Oh god, Victor...I want you more than I can even understand...but I've never been close to a man before..."

He nodded, feigning understanding, "...and you need to take it slow. I get it..."

They were both silent until they pulled back up to her hotel. He helped her out and stood in front of her, smirking, "You know...I'm a man who gets what he wants...always."

Before she had the opportunity to say anymore, he leaned down, favored her with a quick kiss and climbed back into the limo.

She watched as it drove away, then quickly made her way to her room.

Victor drove back to his office, where his team of cult cohorts had gathered. As soon as he walked into his office, he grabbed the telepath, Emma Frost, by her throat and slammed her up against the wall, "What do I keep you around for if you can't fucking get her to put out? Did I not stress that time was of the essence?"

Emma gasped and grabbed at his wrist, "She's...stronger...than...I-" Victor released her, making her crumple to the floor and cough as she rubbed her throat. Finally, she was able to choke out the words, "Her mind is stronger than I originally thought. She's fighting this. She's a virgin for Christ sake Victor! You don't think she'll think about having an abortion after turning up pregnant from a one night stand?"

Raven stepped forward, "She's right, Victor. You're going to have to work for this. You need to prove to her that you genuinely care so that when she finds out she's pregnant, she won't panic and disappear."

Victor growled and straightened out his jacket before pointing at Emma, "Fine...but you better stay on her, you hear me? Keep working to crack her."  


* * *

The next morning, Marie awoke to the sound of her phone ringing, "Mmm...hello?"

"Just when I thought you couldn't sound any sexier..."

"Victor..." she purred as she smiled into the phone.

"I wanna see you today."

Marie rolled onto her stomach and bit her bottom lip, "I'd like that."

"Be ready by lunch. I'm gonna send a car by."

When lunch time rolled around, the car showed up, just as Victor promised. It took her to meet him at his office building.

Marie took the elevator up to the very top floor and walked over to the secretary's desk where a pretty woman sat, "Um...I'm here to see Victor..."

The woman nodded, "Go right in."

When she entered the office, Victor smiled and kissed her, actually weakening her knees in the process.

They ate some food, then he pulled her over to the window to show her the gorgeous view from his office.

Marie walked over to the telescope he had set up in one of the corner windows and smirked mischievously over her shoulder, "Is this used for naughty purposes?"

"Maybe..."

He slowly stalked toward her as she looked into the telescope. Soon, he was behind her, reaching around to help her maneuver it.

"Quite a view you got here..." she murmured as she explored the landscape.

Victor leaned close to trail soft kisses up the side of her neck as she continued staring through the lens. He felt her breathing quicken and heard the sound of her heartbeat speed up.

Marie licked her lips, "It's...it's really beautiful up here..."

He briefly stopped kissing her to whisper against her ear, "You have no idea..."

Victor continued kissing her neck, then reached in front of her and ran a hand up her stomach to her breast.

In response, Marie jumped slightly, making him whisper again, "Shhh...relax..."

She let out a breath and closed her eyes as her body relaxed beneath his touch. She wanted this...right? Why was there something inside of her making her feel like this wasn't natural?

Somewhere far away, Marie heard the sound of a button being undone and the familiar _zzzzzip_ of a zipper being opened.

When she felt Victor's hand enter her panties, she quickly realized it was her jeans that had been undone.

She gasped as his fingers brushed against her most intimate of places. He smirked when he smelled her body begin to respond to his attentions...just another step closer to his ultimate goal...

"Victor..." she whispered.

He nipped at her ear, "Yeah baby?"

"What are you doing to me?"

He pulled his hand out of her panties and spun her around, "Makin' love to you."

Victor crushed his lips against hers in a bruising kiss, but she suddenly began pulling away from him, "I...I want this, but...not here...not yet."

"Marie...I need you-"

She placed a hand on his lips, "I know...and I need you too...tonight, OK?"

Victor stared down into her eyes, then nodded before taking her face in hie hands, "Tonight..."  


* * *

Obviously, the first place Logan went when he arrived in Calgary was Victor's office building. He sat outside for hours, just waiting for her to show up, but little did he know, he'd just missed her.

Frustrated, he started pounding the pavement while informing Chuck of his progress...or lack thereof. For all he knew, Victor could have gotten the job done already. He only prayed that she was able to resist all of the tools he had at his disposal.

Charles had warned Logan that Victor would have a host of mutants that would rival the collection of residents at the mansion.

After several hours of fruitless searching, he called Charles, "I'm hittin' dead ends, Chuck."

"I'll try to use Cerebro again, but her mind is very strong. There's a chance it could take a while for me to get a specific location. In the meantime, I'll send reinforcements to help you."

Logan groaned, "Please don't say Scott..."

"Logan, you know very well that he's a valuable asset...he's coming and you two will get along, am I understood?"

"Yeah yeah...you just keep your boy scout on his leash."  


* * *

**Review people! How are you enjoying this? Sometimes it's fun to side with the bad guy, so what are you? Team Logan or Team Victor? Let me know!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Alright everyone, I had to take a cue from the X Men comic book verse to help me with the cult storyline. The character "Romulus" exists in the comic books and he is as I describe him here. For more info on Romulus, run an internet search. Just know I did not make him or his abilities up. He is the result of some genius at Marvel.**

**

* * *

**In preparation for Victor's visit to her hotel room, Marie went to a department store, where she spent fifty of the $500 she had left to her name. She bought her first ever piece of lingerie. It was a red, ultra short satin night gown with matching robe that felt like butter against her skin.

She had no clue as to why she was doing this...she never thought she'd be preparing to sleep with a man after only one date.

At the same time, at one of Victor's properties, he was holding a "service" with his faithful followers, the way they'd done every other Friday night for years.

They were all mutants who'd felt persecuted or alienated by their human counterparts in some way. The cult, also known as "The Mutant Brethren", was a secret society whose existence was only heard of through word of mouth exposure.

Ancient documents which the Brethren used as their guides and bibles were written by the father of their cult, an ancient, powerful mutant named Romulus. He was considered to be the last of the "pure" mutants whose blood hadn't mingled with their homo sapien counterparts and he'd been alive since Ancient Rome.

He had a powerful healing factor, super human strength, telekinetic abilities and claws similar to the ones Victor had to keep cut so that he fit in with the human-dominated modern world.

Romulus was a perfect mutant. All strength, no weakness.

He had canine-like features that were very similar to Logan and Victor's wild hair and fangs.

According to the Brethren's books, he didn't die, he simply passed on to another world sometime after the Middle Ages. Before he did, he proclaimed that his likeness would return when his son, thought to be Victor, sired a child with a woman who fit Marie's exact description, right down to her favorite foods.

Since then, the Brethren had a devoted, but elite, following. They were always on the lookout for the mother who would usher Romulus' likeness back into their world, thus "saving" the mutant race and finally ridding the earth of the inferior humans.  


* * *

When Marie returned to her room, she ordered room service, showered and put on her lingerie. Just as she finished drying her hair, she heard a knock on the door.

She answered to find Victor standing there with a bottle of champagne and flowers. She hadn't ordered any because she forgot that 18 was the legal drinking age in most parts of Canada.

"Hi..." she said as she smiled nervously.

Victor leaned down to kiss her, then handed her the bouquet of flowers, "You look amazing."

"Thanks...are you hungry?"

Victor eyed the silver domed dishes on the table across the room and shook his head before turning his hungry eyes back to hers, "I am hungry...but not for food."

Before she could say anymore, Victor had snatched her body to his for a hungry kiss. She couldn't help but weaken against him as he crushed her supple body against his chiseled physique.

He'd waited long enough. Nothing was going to stand between them anymore. The child would be conceived tonight.

Victor had set Emma up in a room adjacent to Marie's and he could only hope that the telepath was working overtime on Marie's mind.

As his lips moved to her neck, he untied her robe and slid his hands inside. He was slightly disappointed to find that his hands connected with more satin instead of the bare flesh of her stomach.

No worries...he'd have plenty of time to have sex with her while she was fully naked...but now, he needed to be inside of her.

Marie nipped at his bottom lip as he pushed her back against the bed a little bit rougher than he probably should have. Luckily, Emma's mind manipulation ensured that Marie didn't get too alarmed over his rough handling.

He grinned down at her as he removed his jacket and began opening his shirt. Victor slowly began opening his pants as he stared down at her, "I'm gonna give you a night you'll never forget."

Her eyes widened as he began kissing the inside of her thighs. She suddenly grew nervous, "Um, Victor...I'm n-no-t..."

Victor growled against her thigh and murmured, "Fuckin' telepath..."

Before Marie could ask what he said, Emma had sensed Marie's hesitation and kicked her manipulations into overdrive, slightly dulling her motor skills and increasing her sex drive.

He smirked when he saw her eyes glass over and watched her body begin to writhe as he touched her.

She bit her bottom lip, "Oh...Victor..."

Victor leaned down to lay a brief, yet hungry kiss against her lips, "Tell me you want this..."

"I want this..." she whispered breathlessly as she reached down and pushed his pants off of his hips before wrapping her legs around him.

It was about to happen...

Just as the head of his cock brushed up against her glistening wet opening, a violent explosion made him jerk from atop her.

Marie, whose mind was still under the cloud of Emma's manipulation gasped and blindly reached to cover herself.

Victor stood in front of her, growling and snarling as the culprits charged through the blasted doorway.

The first guy wore weird looking glasses and a leather outfit. The second intruder was Logan. Marie screamed his name in shock and surprise and tied the robe tighter around her waist, "Oh my god! What the fuck are you doin' here?"

Logan barely spared her a glance as he bared his teeth at the growling Victor. Marie gasped when six, 9 inch blades appeared from beneath his knuckles. Victor crouched into a fighting stance as his nails grew before Marie's eyes.

She shook her head, "What's going on here?"

Victor pushed her backwards, then suddenly charged, but a red beam shot from the unnamed intruder's visor and hit Victor square in the chest, sending him flying across the room and crashing into the room service table.

Marie screamed and covered her mouth before attempting to rush over to help Victor, but Logan snatched her back and tossed her over his shoulder before running out while Scott made sure no one followed. She kicked and fought, screaming and cursing the whole way.

To avoid the authorities who, were no doubt on their way, they rushed down the stairs of the service stairwell.

Halfway down, they heard one of the doors from the top level open, Scott glanced up to see one of Victor's minions chasing them down. As soon as the guy stuck his head over the side of the stairwell, Scott took aim and blasted him.

He rushed to catch up with Logan, who had already high tailed it outside with the hysterically screaming Marie. Within a matter of minutes, Scott was peeling out of the parking lot with Logan working to subdue Marie in the backseat.

Logan looked back just in time to see Victor burst through the door and roar in frustration when he spotted them speeding away. He turned his attentions back to Marie, who never stopped screaming.

"What are you doing! Who are you? What's wrong with you?"

Scott glanced in the rearview mirror as he drove, "Logan...she needs to calm down before we get pulled over!"

Logan sighed sadly at the trembling, shrieking Marie before taking a small bottle of chloroform out and pouring some onto a cloth. He grabbed the struggling Marie and whispered "Sorry darlin'" before putting the cloth over her mouth until she fell unconscious.  


* * *

Victor hauled off and punched the mutant that happened to be unfortunate enough to be standing next to him, "I thought I told you fuckers to monitor the X Men's movement! How the hell did they end up in her hotel room?"

Raven was the only one with the courage to step forward, "You know what kind of resources they have at their disposal sir...we can't predict and watch every movement."

He paced the room, growling and muttering to himself, "I was so fucking close..."

"What now?" Emma asked quietly.

Victor turned his glaring eyes to his assembled followers, "Now...we find her before it's too late."  


* * *

Marie's eyes slowly blinked open to stare at a ceiling that looked startlingly unfamiliar. She ran a hand through her messy hair and sat up a little too quickly making her head spin and throb painfully.

She began looking around the room and slowly slid out of bed before unsteadily stumbling around the room. Marie did her best to gain her bearings as she rushed toward the door.

Just as she put her hand on the handle, she heard the beep of the electronic key. When the door opened, she stumbled backwards, away from Logan, who was carrying several shopping bags.

Marie bumped up against the table and put a hand on her head, "What in the hell is going on?"

Logan closed the door behind him and set the bags down, "Good to see you're awake..." He walked over to the mini fridge and pulled out a bottle of water, "You've been out for a while. You should hydrate."

She narrowed her eyes at him, "I'm leaving!"

He sighed and grabbed her when she tried to march past him. She started to scream, but he clapped a hand over her mouth and looked into her eyes, "I brought you toiletries, clothes and food. I will tell you everything you need to know, but right now, you need to drink something and eat so that you lose that headache. Now...I'm gonna move my hand. You will not scream. You will not try to escape. You're going to take a bottle of water, drink it, then eat a fucking piece of fruit. Understood?"

Marie noted the stern tone of his voice and serious look in his eyes before nodding slowly. Her lips trembled as he moved his hand from over her mouth. She slowly took the bottle of water and drank thirstily before greedily devouring two bananas and a pear.

Logan tossed a bag onto the bed, "Toothbrush, toothpaste and crap are in there."

She silently took the bag and headed to the shower. When she came out, freshly scrubbed and wearing nothing but a towel and wet hair, Logan averted his eyes and cleared his throat. He didn't know how in the hell he was going to concentrate on telling her the story of the cult and the child she was supposed to conceive.

"Have a seat, kid."

The casual tone of his voice was slightly comforting. He called her "kid" all the time back in Laughlin City...that simple little pet name reminded her that she was at least in the presence of someone she thought she knew.

As she took a seat on the bed, her towel rode up a little, temporarily rendering him speechless. When he finally regained his ability to speak, he sighed, "Before I start, you need to know that what I'm about to tell you is pretty hard to believe. I mean...it was hard for me to believe at first..."

"I'm sure you've got a great excuse for kidnapping me and assaulting my...my...friend."

He cleared his throat and laid out the story of the cult. She went from staring at him in disbelief to shaking her head and yelling "No" repeatedly when he got to the part about her being the one who would have to carry the evil mutant spawn.

"No! No no no no! It doesn't make any sense! Are you kidding me? I'm just a waitress!"

Logan sighed, "Kid, it makes perfect sense if you just think about it...you're a virgin and after just one date, you were ready to let him have you. Did you ever feel like you weren't thinking straight when you were around him?"

Marie blinked and looked down as she recounted the past few days. It was true...it felt like she was in a constant, hormonally charged fog when she was around Victor.

She stuttered, "He...he's a charming guy..."

"No Marie...he's not. He's an animal. The charm, the wining, the dining...it's all fake. He's an evil, power hungry animal beneath that suit. He knows he can't be who he really is around you until after the child's conceived. He acts that way because that's the only way he can be successful and fit in with today's world."

Marie stood and shook her head, "N-n-no...this can't be true. You're mistaken...you have the wrong girl..."

Logan took her hand and looked deep into her eyes, "Marie...the whole reason I was in Laughlin City, was you...I was protecting you from him...then he randomly showed up. I know he told you he was on his way to Calgary, but he never told you where he was coming from, right? There's nothing north of Calgary...there's no reason he would be passing through Laughlin City. He was there...because of you."

She swallowed hard and swayed a bit, "Logan...I feel-"

Before she could finish, she passed out and landed neatly in his arms.

"Welp...I guess she believes me now..."

* * *

**Sooooo, what do you think? Enjoying it? Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

When she regained consciousness, she heard whispering between Logan and the other man with the red glasses, "You told her everything? You think that was such a good idea?"

"She deserves to know why she was kidnapped, Scooter."

The man, who had been identified as Scooter, groaned, "So...what'd she say?"

Logan sucked his teeth, "She wrote a dissertation and submitted it for a doctoral degree...what the fuck do you think? She passed out!"

Marie stirred, deciding she'd had enough of being talked about. Logan was at her side in an instant, "You feelin' OK, kid?"

She was slightly taken aback at his concern, "Um...yeah." Marie glanced up at the man with the weird red glasses, "So...you're Scooter?"

Logan chuckled a little as Scott's jaw clenched, "Scott, actually."

"Oh. Sorry...you do look like a Scooter though..."

Again, Logan laughed as Scott sighed, "It's just Scott."

Marie pursed her lips together and looked at Logan, "So...let's say I do believe this really...really crazy story. What's to keep Victor from...finishing the job?"

Logan and Scott traded looks before Scott stepped forward, "We have a better shot of protecting you if we can keep moving, but there's no guarantee. We need your full cooperation if we're going to keep you away from him."

Marie nodded slowly and sighed, "Why did I feel like I was under some sort of spell?"

"Victor has a lot of mutants supporting his cause, one of which is a particularly powerful telepath. She's able to make you think and do things your normally wouldn't. She's even able to block the professor's telepathy..."

She raised a brow, "The professor?"

Scott caught Marie up on the X Men while Logan packed up their things and got them ready to go. The men waited while she got dressed in the bathroom.

She spent the whole drive drifting in and out of sleep.

During one gas stop, Scott caught Logan wistfully staring at Marie's peaceful, sleeping form in the back seat.

Logan noticed Scott looking at him and defensively raised a brow, "What?"

"Why are you looking at her like that?"

He straightened in his seat and grumbled, "Like what?"

Even though Logan couldn't see it, he could tell Scott was narrowing his eyes behind those ruby quartz lenses, "Did anything happen between you two in Laughlin City that I should know about?"

Logan glared and angrily motioned toward the steering wheel, "Just drive the fuckin' car."

It took a few moments for him to realize that he wasn't actually angry at Scott's typical, snot-nosey behavior...he was angry because nothing_ had_ happened between the two of them that Scott needed to know about.

* * *

She honestly didn't know how long they'd been driving before they pulled through the gates of a grand looking estate. Marie sat up, "This is where you live?"

Logan nodded, "Every now and then. Remember the professor I told you about?"

"Yeah...this is his school, right?"

"Yeah."

They pulled up the driveway in front of the large, ornate doors and were immediately met by a tall, red headed woman, a white haired woman with dark skin and a bald headed man in a wheel chair.

Logan started introductions, "Marie, this is Jean, Storm, and Professor Xavier."

She politely shook their hands and smiled, "Nice to meet you."

The professor's smile was genuine and his voice was warm and comforting, "I know you must be exhausted and very stressed from your trip. We've had a room prepared for you. Storm will show you the way and fix you up with something to eat if you like. Take rest tonight and I can answer any questions you may have in the morning."

"Thank you."

That night, Marie laid awake in her strange new surroundings, too nervous and keyed up to sleep.

Despite all she'd been told about the evil Victor and his devious plans, she couldn't shake the wanton desire she had for him. Logan and Scooter...er Scott...had explained to her that Victor's telepath probably inserted false emotions and memories within her mind to make her opinion of Victor a little bit more favorable.

As she tried to fall asleep, she was confronted by visions of a naked Victor hovering over her. Marie sat up and shook her head. She almost wished Logan would chloroform her again.

The chemically induced slumber had been surprisingly peaceful and dreamless.

She slowly stood and walked over to the closet, taking out a brand new robe before tearing the tags off and slipping it on. Her throat was dry and her stomach was rumbling. Maybe she could find her way back to the kitchen for a midnight snack...

Although Marie took a few wrong turns on her way to the kitchen, she made it there without freaking out about being lost in a giant mansion filled with strange mutants.

She went straight to the refrigerator, where she found some yogurt. The spoons were not nearly as easy to find.

As she explored the countless drawers in the expansive kitchen, she was interrupted by the sound of a throat clearing.

Her head snapped up to spot Logan, leaning casually in the doorway, "Couldn't sleep, kid?"

Marie shook her head and held up the container of yogurt, "Looking for a spoon."

Logan walked over to a drawer on the island, opened it and tossed the much sought after spoon onto the counter before going over to a cupboard and opening it to reveal a mini fridge with a lock on it. He sighed, pulled a set of keys out of his pocket and used them to unlock the mini fridge, which she soon realized contained beer and other alcoholic beverages.

She watched intently as he locked it back then closed the cupboard door.

He noticed her watching and smiled, "Don't get any ideas. You're back in the states now and the drinkin' age here is 21."

Marie sighed and opened the yogurt, "I don't like beer."

"You ever had it?"

"No."

He snickered, "Then how do ya know you don't like it?"

Marie shrugged and smirked, "I dunno. Why don't you lemme have a taste and I can see?"

Logan couldn't help but smile at her, "Nice try, darlin'."

He had always enjoyed her company back in Laughlin City, and that obviously hadn't changed. She was still the quick witted, bright, smart assed Marie he knew.

He loved it.

"Was worth a try", she sighed as she ate a spoonful of her yogurt.

For some reason, Logan found himself zeroing in on her luscious lips as they wrapped around the spoon.

After a few spoonfuls, Marie noticed his staring and straightened slightly, "Uhm...you want some?"

Logan shook his head, successfully breaking himself out of his reverie, "Ah...no, sorry for the uhh...uhh.."

She narrowed her eyes at him, "You know...you kind of look like him."

He seemed horrified by that fact, "I _what_?"

Marie tried to back pedal, "Well, just your facial hair...or...I mean...your eyes...it's nothing. I'm sorry."

Logan shook his head, "S'ok. Are you settled into your room OK?"

She gave a simple nod, relieved that the subject had been changed, "Yeah. I just hope the professor can fix what Victor's telepath screwed up...every time I close my eyes..." Marie's voice trailed off as her eyes drifted shut. She quickly shook her head and reopened them to stare down into her yogurt container.

A look of concern spread over Logan's face as he set his beer down and took a slow, cautious step toward her, "You OK, kid?"

When she looked up, her eyes were wet with tears that had yet to spill onto her cheeks. She took a deep, shivering breath and shook her head, "I see him...every time I close my eyes. I feel him...his breath...his lips...his hands...I can't escape it..."

Logan put a hand on top of hers, "That's not your fault-"

"But sometimes...I don't want to escape it...I like it!" she blurted, covering her face with both of her hands as tears began to flow freely. Her shoulders jerked as she sobbed and sniffled, trying in vain to get her body under control.

He didn't quite know what to say to her, so he just moved a little closer and began rubbing her back. When she finally regained her ability to speak, she sniffled and wiped at her face.

"Look, kid...I may not understand what you're goin' through, but I can tell you that you don't deserve anything that's happening to you right now. Don't feel guilty...none of this is your fault. The thoughts...the dreams...you know that's not really you, I know that's not really you. The professor'll help ya out with all that, OK?"

Marie took a deep breath and nodded before standing to let Logan guide her back to her room.

For the next two nights, she and Logan "accidentally" ran into each other in the kitchen for beers and midnight snacks. In reality, he realized that she would have a hard time adjusting in the mansion, so he made it a point to try to run into her at night if she was up, spending a restless couple of hours in the kitchen.

During the day, the professor worked with her, showing her how to compartmentalize the thoughts Emma had placed in her head. He also taught her how to attempt to fight off psychic attacks, but that required more concentration and skill than non-telepathic mutants had.

On the third night, after eating her typical container of yogurt and watching Logan down three beers, he began walking her back to her room. Halfway there, her knees suddenly weakened and a sudden rush of heat shot through her body.

Logan immediately noticed and grabbed her shoulders, "Marie? What is it?"

She began to crumple to the floor as her eyes glassed over, but Logan supported her weight and shook her slightly. Marie suddenly grabbed his biceps and whispered, "Oh...Victor..."

His eyes widened as he realized what was happening. That damn telepath had managed to form another mental connection with her and was working to make her even more vulnerable to that sick bastard's intentions...

"Stay with me, darlin'...come on, fight it!"

Marie began tugging away from Logan and yelling Victor's name as she struggled to move toward the door of the mansion.

Logan yelled for Jean and Scott, who quickly appeared along with the professor to ask what was going on.

Jean squinted and put a hand to her temple, "Oh god...the telepath...she's powerful. If she stays in Marie's mind any longer, they'll know exactly where to find her. We need to get Marie out of here. It's not safe for the children if she stays."

Marie's wails were beginning to disturb the residents of the mansion. Logan and Scott carried her down to the med lab, where Jean quickly administered a sedative that put Marie in a deep enough unconscious state to sever the telepathic bond with Emma Frost. While Storm quickly gathered Marie's belongings and stuffed them into a bag, Logan packed his own things.

As the rest of the team members prepared Logan and Marie for their extended road trip by loading up one of the mansion's Range Rovers with food, clothes, camping gear, toiletries and other provisions, the professor sat with his finger tips gently placed against Marie's forehead, working desperately to help her form some sort of psychic block that would give her the tools to shield her mind from Emma's manipulations.

The professor knew how powerful Emma Frost was...she'd been a student of his long ago. Meanwhile, Logan and Scott were looking over a map and a list of "safe house" addresses that were scattered across North America.

Scott sighed, "You should probably decide for yourself which one you're going to stay at. The fewer people who know where you are, the better."

Logan nodded in agreement, "Wherever we go, we won't stay there long. We'll stay on the move."

A few minutes later, Logan went down to the med lab to get his unconscious road mate. He'd insisted on carrying her himself.

As he carefully laid her down in the backseat, Storm handed him a communicator as the professor approached, "We will try to keep tabs on the Brethren's movement for you. Keep a close eye on her Logan. Her mind is strong, but Emma is stronger."  


* * *

When Marie woke up, she was curled up on a plush leather seat in a moving vehicle. Panic immediately set in, making her quickly sit up and survey her surroundings. Her beating heart calmed substantially when she realized that the driver of the vehicle was Logan.

"What happened?" she murmured groggily.

"Victor's telepath found her way back into your brain...tried to get you to run outta the mansion."

Marie rubbed her head, "Where are we?"

He glanced at her and saw that her robe was falling open in the front, "Uh...Storm and Jean packed your stuff. You should dressed..."

She looked down at herself, "Oh...right."

After some rummaging through the cargo area of the SUV, she settled in the backseat and looked at Logan's eyes in the rearview mirror, "Um...I have to get a little naked so-"

He immediately returned his eyes to the road and nodded, "No problem."

Sometime during her backseat quick change, Logan stole a glance in the mirror and was confronted by the vision of her milky white breast as it peeked out of her flimsy tank top. She quickly slipped on a fleece sweater, unaware of the peepshow she was providing for the feral in the front seat.

When he was sure she was dressed, Logan glanced at her and moved his jacket off of the passenger seat beside him, "Come on, kid. Hop up."

She climbed into the front seat, brushing against him just a slight bit more than she should have, then settled in and buckled her seat belt.

"If that bitch-telepath had stayed in your brain any longer, she would have been able to figure out exactly where you were...and there's other kids in the mansion, so that wouldn't have been safe."

Marie looked down and spoke quietly, "So...we're running..."

Logan looked over at her, "It won't be long, kid. Just a couple of months. The way the professor sees it, Victor only has until this eclipse happens to finish the job. I just need to keep you safe until then."

She gave a slight nod before looking down at her hands, allowing the hum of the engine and the low murmur of the radio to fill the air.

Marie brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them as she stared out the windshield, thinking about the wild turn of events that had turned her life upside down.

Logan allowed the silence for nearly three hours before pulling over to gas up and eat. She went to the restroom, then returned to the car just as he was opening up fast food bags that reeked of grease and salt.

When she didn't make a move to eat, he grumbled, "Eat something. You'll feel better."

"I'm not hungry."

Logan took a bite of his burger, "Bull shit. The last thing you ate was that yogurt almost 7 hours ago. Eat."

She quietly ate one french fry, then two...then three.

Before Logan knew it, she'd consumed an entire container of fries and was halfway through her cheeseburger. He let out a sigh of relief. He really didn't want to have to worry about her starving herself on this trip because of her displeasure with her situation.

That night, they couldn't find a lodging establishment that didn't charge by the hour, so Logan figured a camping ground looked like the best option.

He told Marie to stay put while he set up the tent and sleeping bags.

He'd just finished setting up the tent when he returned to the truck to realize that only one sleeping bag had been packed. He cursed, causing Marie to turn her head and look at him, "Everything alright?"

Logan grumbled, "Looks like we only got one sleeping bag here, kid. I guess I'm gonna have to rough it on the ground."

Marie hopped out of the car and waved a hand dismissively, "We can just share."

His jaw hit the ground as she began walking toward their tent.

Logan was a strong guy. He could bench press at least five hundred pounds and could heal from any wound...but he didn't think he was strong enough to sleep with Marie's lithe, nubile form pressed against his.

Her voice broke him away from his thoughts, "Are you coming?"

He cleared his throat, "Uh...yeah."

It took some maneuvering, but eventually, Logan was able to squeeze into the sleeping bag next to Marie, who had already started shivering.

"You OK?" he asked as his breath caressed her ear.

She nodded, "Just a little cold."

"It'll warm up soon."

Logan cursed internally when he realized how dirty he just sounded. He quickly crossed his arms to keep from accidentally caressing her, then closed his eyes, praying for sleep to take over so that his feral sex drive wouldn't. If only he could just go to sleep so that he wouldn't have to think about the sexy, beautiful-

"Logan?"

_FUCK._

"Yeah?"

She spoke, still facing away from him, "Were you always with the X Men like Jean and Scott?"

He shook his head, briefly forgetting that she couldn't see him, "No. I've only been with them for a few years. Before that I was just wandering."

"Where are you from?"

Logan could tell that the hours of sedation and constant napping had affected her ability to fall asleep, so he humored her, "I don't know."

Suddenly, she turned to face him. He wasn't prepared to feel her breasts brush against his forearms, so he jerked slightly.

She didn't seem to notice as she continued speaking, "You don't know?"

He shook his head, "No. Fifteen years ago, I woke up in a strange place with no recollection of who I was. I've been looking for answers ever since."

Marie's brows furrowed in concern, "Oh...I'm sorry."

He shrugged, "Not your fault."

"I know, but...to not know who you are or if you have a family out there who thinks you're dead...it's horrible."

Logan let out a breath, "Sometimes I think, if I do have a family out there, they're better off without me."

"What makes you say that?"

He didn't understand how the conversation had progressed so naturally. He usually hated talking to people about his past, but with her, he was eager to answer questions and quick to respond to comments.

With a sigh, he continued, "I may not know who I am...but I've gotten to know myself and...I just don't think I'm fit for family life."

Of course, she disagreed with that, "I wouldn't say that."

Logan chuckled bitterly, "Why not?"

"Because you're a great guy. You're giving your all to protect me and you've only ever been a casual acquaintance. You've never lost your patience with me, even though I know I can be difficult when I'm stressed out...I don't understand why you'd think you aren't family material."

He looked into her eyes and realized she was right. He would give his all to protect her.

* * *

**Alright folks! More to come! What do you think? Are you enjoying Marie and Logan's time together?**

**Review please! I need more feedback! You know I live off of it!  
**


	6. Chapter 6

They talked for a couple more hours before she fell asleep, unconsciously nuzzling into him as he closed his eyes and inhaled her scent. The gentle sound of her rhythmic breathing lulled him into a peaceful sleep...something he'd sorely missed.

When the sun rose, he had to wake Marie up since she was still curled against him. He looked down at her face and sighed. He wished he could stay in that warm sleeping bag all day with her warmth pressed against him.

He gently shook her shoulder, "Come on, kid...time to get up."

They both used the bathrooms available at the camping grounds to shower and wash up before reconvening at the SUV.

He was surprised when she took the tent down by herself and folded it neatly back into its bag, "You been camping before?"

"I used to go every summer with my older cousins. My tent was the only one that didn't collapse on contact. I ain't as prissy as ya think, buddy."

Logan didn't realize he was just standing there, watching her with a stupid smile plastered on his face until she looked up at him and smiled back, "What?"

"What-what?"

"You're grinning."

He immediately fixed the scowl back to his face and grunted, "Ready to go?"

Marie gave a mock salute, "Aye aye, captain!"

Logan couldn't help but let out a low chuckle and shake his head as she climbed into the truck.

They drove for another six hours before finally reaching the first safe house they would be staying in. It was a nondescript house in a suburban neighborhood with only a few, necessary pieces of furniture scattered throughout.

Luckily for Logan and his morning wood, there were two beds.

That night, they ate some take out, then got ready for bed. He had just taken off his shirt when Marie suddenly knocked on his partially open door, "Can I come in?"

The light knock widened the door just enough for her to get an eyeful of his naked chest. Logan couldn't help but be proud of the appreciative gaze she favored him with.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to bother you-"

He quickly shook his head and opened the door wider, "You're not."

Marie smiled, "Oh...I was just goin' through the closets and found Monopoly...was wonderin' if you wanted to play."

"Monopoly?" he asked with a puzzled look on his face.

She looked down and stuttered, "Yeah, yeah, you're right, it's a dumb idea. I just need something to take my mind off of...everything."

Logan spoke quickly, "Sure...sure...no, it's OK. Come in."

Marie sat on Logan's bed and smiled as she laid out the board game. He joined her on the opposite side of the board and watched as she divided up the money.

When everything was laid out, he still had a vacant look in his eyes, "Please tell me you've played Monopoly before..."

"Do I look like the type of guy who plays board games in his spare time?"

"Good point. Alright...the object of the game is money and property..." Marie laid out the rules and object of the game before they finally had the opportunity to roll the dice.

After an initial rocky start, Logan quickly got the hang of the game and began buying up property left and right. Marie was far more picky in her purchases and saved her money for railroads, utilities and the coveted green and blue color coded properties.

Three hours later, Logan was bankrupt and holding onto his last piece of property and a "Get Out of Jail Free" card.

He almost growled when he rolled the dice and landed on Marie's house-packed Pennsylvania Avenue. She laughed a little and looked on the back of her card, "Let's see...I don't think mortgaging skid row is gonna give you enough to pay me rent. You might have to start turnin' tricks."

He tossed the card down and crossed his arms, "Fuckin' ridiculous..."

Marie's mouth dropped open a little, "Are you a sore loser?"

"No. This game is rigged!"

She collapsed onto the bed in a fit of giggles, "Oh wow!"

Although he was glad she was laughing, he was still upset over losing the game. The Wolverine never lost.

"We're playing again."

Marie's laughter slowly died down, "Oh wow...Logan, come on, I was just messin' with ya."

"I demand a rematch."

"Nope! You lost! Fair and square! Deal with it!" she said as she snatched the dice away.

He held his hand out, "Gimme the dice."

She shook her head, "Nuh uh."

"Marie. Give. Me. The Dice."

"No", she said as she hid them behind her back.

She suddenly squealed in laughter as he lunged forward and reached behind her back to try to pry the dice from her fingers.

When the struggle made their lips accidentally brush against each other, Logan suddenly stopped and looked down into her eyes.

Marie pursed her lips together as he slowly moved away from her and sat back on the opposite side of the bed, "Maybe we can play again tomorrow...it's late."

She slowly nodded, then stood and left the room without a word.

As soon as the door was closed, he plopped back against the bed and rubbed both hands over his face, "Shit...I am so fucked."

The following day, they made their way to the local Wal Mart to purchase a few groceries, but Marie ended up dragging him into the board game section.

"Monopoly didn't quite work out for you, so let's try somethin' else."

Logan rubbed the back of his head as he thought back to their near-kiss the night before that was the result of a heated game of Monopoly, "I dunno, kid..."

"Oh come on...let's try Scrabble...and Clue. They're just ten bucks each."

He realized there was no way in hell he would ever be able to say no to that face...and those pouting lips, so he nodded and followed her to the cash register with their half full basket of groceries.

When they returned to the safe house, Marie immediately went to work on dinner, claiming she had the recipe for some southern pork chops that would knock his socks off.

Logan leaned against the counter, sipping a beer as she stood next to him at the sink, peeling potatoes. He watched her like a hawk to make sure she didn't cut herself, but she seemed to be an expert in the kitchen.

Sometime between her putting the pork chops on the stove and mashing the potatoes, Logan panicked internally when he realized how happy he was just sitting in the kitchen, talking to her and watching her cook.

"Would ya get the plates down for me?"

He nodded and laid them out on the table before she loaded them up with hefty servings of mashed potatoes, green beans and smothered pork chops with gravy.

Logan's first bite was practically magical, "Holy shit, kid."

"You like it?"

He gave her an incredulous look, "Where'd you learn to cook like this?"

"I _am_ from the south, darlin'."

Logan practically inhaled his food before asking for seconds. After he finished eating, he felt it was only right that he be the one to clean up the kitchen while she went upstairs and took a hot shower.

He finished cleaning and walked upstairs to find Marie walking into her room, glistening wet and wrapped in a towel.

She muttered an apology for her nakedness and rushed into her room. A few minutes later, she walked into his room wearing a tank top and shorts and holding the "Scrabble" board game they'd purchased earlier.

"Ready to give this one a shot?"

Logan nodded, "Sure."

Again, Marie set up the game and laid out the rules.

The game was competitive and lasted for over four hours before Logan declared victory with a triple word score for the word "Zilch".

He pumped his fist in the air and yelled, "Yeah! Now _that's_ a game!"

Marie rolled her eyes and began putting the game away, "The only reason why you like it is because you won."

"Who's a sore loser now?"

She stuck her tongue out, "You suck."

Before he could stop himself, he suddenly blurted, "No, I lick."

Marie's eyes widened a little before she blushed and giggled, "Well well..."

"S-sorry...I don't know why I said that."

She waved her hand, "Don't worry about it. It was funny...and well timed."

Logan looked down. Would he be able to get through one day without putting his foot in his mouth in front of her? He never usually had a problem with things just falling out of his mouth, but with her...he couldn't help it.

"OK, do you wanna try Clue or call it a night?" she asked.

Logan glanced at the clock, "I think we should probably get outta here the day after tomorrow, so we'll need to hit the sack early tomorrow night."

She nodded and stood, "Well, wherever we go, we need to be sure we take the games with us. These things have been a lifesaver."

"Tonight, for me, your cookin' was the lifesaver. I hope the next safe house has some kitchen stuff so I can try some more of your recipes."

Marie favored him with a gentle laugh before bidding him goodnight and walking out of the room.

That night, Logan was woken up by the sounds of Marie's muffled cries. He suddenly jumped up and rushed into her room, where he found her sleeping form, tangled in the covers and desperately fighting some unseen force.

He walked over to her and took a hold of her arms. An intense pain suddenly assaulted his senses as he began gasping for air. It felt like her skin had grabbed a hold of him and was refusing to let go. The sudden rush of memories and heat woke Marie. She shrieked and shoved him off of her, causing him to crumple to the floor in a quivering mass.

Marie struggled to deactivate her skin before rushing to his side and grabbing his face, "Logan! Logan! Look at me!"

His eyes rolled to the back of his head before his world fell black.

When he awoke, she was sitting on the chair beside the bed with red, wet eyes. When she saw that he was awake, she sniffled and wiped at her face, "Oh thank god you're OK..."

Logan slowly and gingerly sat up before attempting to reach for her, but she jerked back and quickly shook her head. He furrowed his eyebrows, "Marie...it's OK. It was just an accident. It was my fault anyways."

"I almost killed you, Logan..."

He shook his head, "Don't. You didn't almost kill me...I should know better than to sneak up on ANY mutant when they're having a bad dream. I'm the worst person to sneak up on when I'm sleeping, trust me. Come on...don't cry."

Marie's bottom lip trembled as he grasped her wrist and pulled her into a hug. She laid her head on his shoulder and sighed softly as the tears slowed and her trembling ceased.

Logan gently rubbed her back and closed his eyes. She had done a number on him, but he would never admit it.

She suddenly jumped back a little bit and rubbed her head, "Uh...I should go to bed."

Her abrupt departure left him confused...especially since they had been in _her_ room.

* * *

The next day was awkward. Marie desperately avoided his gaze like the plague. She seemed a little uncomfortable and was unusually quiet for the entire day. When he finally got up the nerve to be the first to speak, it was nearing dinner time, "What's goin' on, Marie? You haven't been yourself since last night..."

She looked down at her hands for several moments, then finally let out a deep breath, "How much do you know about my mutation?"

"Uh, I was told you can temporarily take on the powers of others and kill them if you hold on too long."

Marie nodded, "Yes...that's part of it."

Logan paled, "What's the other part of it?"

"When someone touches me while my mutation is activated, I do take on their powers...but I also take on pieces of their personality...and their thoughts and feelings."

He immediately wished a hole would open up beneath him and swallow him whole. He'd definitely let the cat out of the bag.

Logan cleared his throat, "I'm sorry. I never...I guess I-"

Marie suddenly quieted him with a searing kiss that caught him completely by surprise. Despite the fact that he was taken aback, he wrapped his arms around her and pressed her close, hoping to god that the moment never ended.

As the kiss drew to a close, Marie whispered against his lips, "I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I never meant to avoid you or anything...I just didn't know what to do...with Victor after me and-"

It was his turn to quiet her. He pressed her up against the nearest wall and allowed his hand to roam down her body as they continued kissing.

Logan attempted to come to his senses and break the kiss as he panted, "Maybe...maybe we shouldn't."

She shook her head and grabbed his collar, yanking his mouth back to hers, "I need you..."

He gently pried away from her, "This isn't right, kid...you're...you're "

Marie shook her head as she watched him walk away from her, "Logan..."

But it was too late. He'd already rushed up the stairs and closed his door.

That night, as he laid awake in bed, he heard his door open and quickly looked up, spotting Marie wearing nothing but a bathrobe. As she started to climb on the bed, he sat up to speak, but she placed a gentle hand on his lips and looked into his eyes, "When I touched you last night, I felt everything you felt for me...it was overwhelming at first because I honestly didn't know anyone could ever feel that way for me..."

When her soft hand slowly slipped off of his lips, he shook his head, "Marie, I-"

"Besides that, I've always had a crush on you."

That made him raise his eyebrows, "Really?"

She blushed and nodded, "Come on...the first time I saw you, you were shirtless. What woman wouldn't crush on that?"

Logan sighed and gently cupped her face, "It ain't in the stars for us, darlin'."

Marie looked him square in the eyes, "Why not?"

"Everything that's goin' on with the cult...my past...your age..."

She leaned down close, "I don't care about any of that, Logan...I want you."

He gulped audibly as she straddled his hips and laid a gentle kiss on his mouth. He threw his resistance out the window and began kissing her back as he allowed his hand to snake behind her neck and curl into her hair.

A soft gasp escaped Marie's lips before he suddenly flipped her over onto her back and ground himself into her. He moved his lips away from hers, just long enough to trail kisses down her neck to her chest.

His entire body tensed when he moved his hand down to part the thin fabric of her robe to reveal her gorgeous, naked body. Logan allowed his hands and lips to explore the soft, sloping planes of her nubile body as it trembled in anticipation beneath his sensual caresses.

"God, Marie..." he whispered as he leaned down and took a hardened, pink nipple in his mouth. She arched as he sucked and licked at her breast, teasing the overly sensitive flesh with his teeth.

Marie ran her hands through his hair, letting her nails gently graze at his scalp as he moved from one breast to the other.

When he felt that her breasts had had enough attention, he kissed his way down her stomach and took a deep, savoring breath before delving into her soft brown curls.

She jumped and gasped as she felt his tongue flick across her clit, then delve into her velvety, wet folds, "Oh...god!"

After several moments of torturous pleasure, Logan gently kissed the inside of her thigh, then made his way back up her body. As he settled on top of her and looked down into her eyes, "It'll hurt a little bit baby..."

Marie nodded, "I'm ready."

Logan slowly reached down and grasped his cock before guiding it forward and allowing the tip to rest just inside her opening. He looked back into her eyes and began slowly pressing his hips down into her, guiding his shaft further and further into her tight hole.

When he felt her barrier give way, she tensed and whimpered beneath him. Logan panicked internally, hating the thought of causing her any pain, "Are you OK?"

Marie let out a soft breath, "Yeah...I'm good. Don't stop."

He kissed her lovingly, then slowly began moving within her. It was gentle at first, but the sound of her soft moans began spurring him on, bringing out the animal within him.

"You like that?" he growled as he began moving faster.

She eagerly dug her nails into his back and bit her lip, "Mmm yeah..."

Logan ran his tongue over the glistening skin of her neck, tasting her as she began moving her hips in tune with his powerful thrusts.

Marie locked her legs behind his and whispered his name as he pushed deeper and deeper inside of her, "Don't stop."

He was panting and sweating from his exertion now. Her tightness was too much to bear and he knew he would be cumming soon, "Baby...I'm not gonna last much longer...I gotta pull out..."

"No, don't pull out!"

Logan didn't know how he had the where with all to keep talking as he continued pumping into her, "B-but...you're not-"

"I don't care! I need you! All of you!" she cried out as she began cumming hard. Her body jerked and clenched around him, forcing him into his own, white hot cloud of pleasure.

All argument ceased as he came deep within her, roaring as he spilled his seed.

As they slowly floated back down from heaven, he laid gentle kisses along her jaw, "Are you OK?"

Marie let out a breath and nodded, "More than..."

* * *

**Coming up next...**

**Logan and Marie move to another safe house.**

**Emma is finally able to get a lock on Marie.  
**

**Victor finds a way to draw Marie away from Logan.**

**Someone says "I love you".**

**Things don't go according to plan for ANYONE.**

**As always people, REVIEW! I need feedback!  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**************WARNING*********** **

**This chapter contains slightly squeemish material. Do not read if you are easily offended.**

* * *

Just as Logan said, they hit the road the following day. Every now and then, Marie would feel a tickle in the back of her mind, but she fought against it just as the professor had taught her. Emma was obviously working to gain access to her mind, but she was too far away to overcome Marie's practiced telepathic blocks.

Marie watched Logan for a little while, then leaned over and kissed his neck as he drove.

He laughed a little and glanced at her, "What was that for?"

"If you knew how sexy you were, you wouldn't have to ask that question."

Logan smirked and raised a brow, "You keep that up and I'm gonna have to pull over."

They made it to the next safe house just before midnight. It was a beautiful, yet tiny, cabin in the woods. It only had one large living space with a kitchen and a bathroom.

Marie noticed the lack of a bedroom and raised a brow to Logan, who smirked, "I'm sure the sofa folds out into a bed.

When they got settled in, Logan worked to light a fireplace while Marie heated up a can of soup for their dinner. After eating, Marie cleared the dishes and began washing them in the sink. She was drying off the pot when she felt Logan's hands slowly move to the front of her jeans and open the button.

Butterflies erupted in her stomach as she bit her bottom lip. He slowly leaned forward and began kissing her neck, "I want you, Marie..."

Marie shuddered as he slid her zipper down and pushed his hand inside of her panties. She knew that if she hadn't put down the pot and grabbed a hold of the sink, she would have sunk to the ground in a quivering pile of mush.

After gently teasing her clit and nibbling on her ear, he turned her around and pulled down her jeans and underwear before helping her step out of them. He picked her up and sat her on the edge of the counter, then knelt in front of her and pushed her knees apart.

He unexpectedly slid his tongue up the entire length of her slit, causing her to almost fall backwards against the cabinets and make her grab a hold of his head. He inadvertently pressed his face harder against her pussy, eliciting a lust filled moan from her lips.

He murmured in approval and began lapping at her hungrily, much to her satisfaction.

Marie arched and gasped, "Oh god...wait...wait...I'm gonna...I'm gonna...OH YES!"

Her entire body convulsed as he came hard, crying out his name through her blinding orgasm.

Logan stood up and smirked, "You ready for more baby?"

She nodded and hopped down off of the counter before he turned her around and bent her over the counter. Within seconds, he'd buried his entire length beside her.

He moaned as he thrust into her, fucking her as deep as he possibly could. Marie gasped and gripped onto the counter as her body jerked from his movements.

Soon, they were both cumming and crying out in unified pleasure.

After their steamy kitchen encounter, they showered together, then laid down with his arm protectively holding her close.

"What if it's all bullshit?" she suddenly asked.

"What is?"

She turned to look into his eyes, "The prophecy...the cult...everything."

Logan let out a breath and kissed her forehead, "Then I'll be really fuckin' happy."

"Why? Everything you worked for this past year or so woulda been a lie."

He nodded, "Yeah...but you'd be safe and I wouldn't have to worry about that sick bastard comin' after you."

Marie smiled and turned to nuzzle into him, "This is turnin' out to be quite a road trip."

Logan softly caressed her arm and sighed, "You're tellin' me."

After a few moments of cuddling, they got dressed in a few, choice articles of clothing and broke out their only unopened board game, Clue.

For some reason, when it came down to it, neither of them could correctly guess the right killer, weapon or location.

They decided to call it a draw and save it for another day.

* * *

Victor growled in frustration as Raven returned to the limo with no information after questioning gas station attendants about Marie's whereabouts.

Emma sat on the opposite side of the car, eyes closed in determination as she continued trying to break into Marie's mind.

She groaned and sighed, "This would be so much easier if I had Cerebro..."

Raven perked up slightly, "You think we-"

"Not even possible", said Emma.

Victor furrowed his eyebrows, "If you think you have a plan, I'm all ears."

Raven shifted into her natural blue state, then suddenly shifted into Storm's form, "Fire drill anyone?"

* * *

The next night, Victor, Emma and Raven snuck onto the west end of the professor's expansive estate. Emma looked at Raven, who had just shifted into Storm, "Remember, don't project. As long as you remain calm, you'll be fine."

An evil smirk appeared on Raven's borrowed face, "This ain't my first rodeo, sister."

Raven made her way into the mansion, stealthily sneaking through halls and dodging security cameras before making her way into Storm's room to chloroform the sleeping weather goddess.

When that deed was done, she snuck over to the nearest fire alarm and pulled it, making loud beeping noises echo throughout the entire school. Soon, children began pouring into the halls and she played the roll of dutiful teacher, directing kids out of the school's main entrance in a calm, peaceful manner.

Thankfully, she managed to avoid the professor and Jean since they were busy getting their own wings cleared. As the last of the children left her hallway, she motioned toward the stairs, "I'm going to go make sure the upstairs is clear. Tell Jean and Scott I'll be out in a second."

The last of the children nodded before obediently rushing out of the door and out of sight. As soon as the coast was clear, she rushed to the back entrance of the mansion, where Emma was waiting.

Victor stayed behind to be a lookout.

Raven and Emma made their way down to the lower levels and got Cerebro's chamber open with Raven briefly transforming into the professor.

She waited outside while Emma activated Cerebro and began working to find Marie.

As she floated through red, shining dots that represented the mutants of the world, she was guided to the form that was Marie. She appeared to be standing in a kitchen, drinking a glass of water.

After memorizing Marie's coordinates, Emma deactivated Cerebro, then opened its operational compartment and yanked out several cords, deeming the machine useless for anyone who may try to use it after her. She rushed out just in time to hear the 'all clear' bell ring.

As Emma and Raven slipped out the way they came in, Emma smirked at her partner in crime, "You've got a useful gift there, Raven."

"You know I'm thinkin' of goin' by Mystique..."

Emma raised a brow, "Hmmm...suits you."

* * *

After a day of exploring the woods around the cabin, Marie and Logan returned to eat dinner, play a game of Monopoly, have sex and go to sleep. Some time during the night, Marie thought she heard something outside, she she woke Logan up.

He got dressed and went outside to check the perimeter of the cabin and the surrounding property.

As she sat there waiting for him to come back, she suddenly heard a voice in her mind that was bone chillingly familiar. Before she could stop herself, her limbs had taken on a mind of their own. She stood and walked out of the cabin, then through the woods.

The entire time she tried to stop herself...even as she scraped her legs on sharp branches and cut her feet on jagged rocks, she continued walking closer and closer toward that voice..._his _voice...

She couldn't cry. She couldn't scream for Logan...she was a puppet and she knew she was no longer under her own control.

When she finally got to the main road, Victor stood there grinning sinisterly at her. He was flanked by two women. One, she recognized as his secretary, Raven, and the other, was vaguely familiar.

Marie guessed that was the telepath.

Victor held out a hand to her and the telepath used her powers to make Marie walk right over to him. He yanked her close and favored her with a hungry, invasive kiss before squeezing her tight, "I've gone through quite a lot to get you back...don't you worry...we won't be apart...ever again..."

Suddenly, all four of them heard Logan yelling her name in the distance. Victor pushed Marie toward Raven and Emma, "Get her in the car...I'll deal with him."

Marie's eyes widened, but that's all she could do in reaction to the impending fight between the man she loved and the man she hated.

As Emma and Raven shoved her in the car, they instructed the limo driver to start the engine and keep it idling.

Out the window, Marie saw Logan run from the woods with unsheathed claws. He barely had time to react before Victor caught him in the chest with a large, clawed hand, sending him sailing into a tree.

Logan slowly stood, then charged at Victor, successfully impaling his bicep on three of his large claws.

Victor hissed in pain, but grabbed Logan's wrist and yanked him closer, then slashed at his throat.

Marie watched in horror as giant spurts of blood sprang from Logan's neck.

His jugular had been severed...

She knew that, even with Logan's healing factor, that was an injury he might die from since he was losing blood quicker than he could recover it.

Logan grabbed his throat as Victor took the opportunity to pick him up and throw him into a tree.

The horror, sorrow and pain she felt overrode any psychic manipulations Emma held her under, which enabled her to finally take a hold of her own facilities just enough to scream bloody murder as she watched Logan's blood pool around his lifeless body.

Victor returned to the car and told the driver to leave before yelling at Emma to shut Marie up.

The telepath pushed Marie into a deep sleep, successfully ending her screams.

He sighed and began wiping blood off of him, "Welp...so much for doin' this the easy way. Emma, I need you to poke around in her mind...find out how to make the whole process as pleasant as it can be for her. When it's time, I want you to make her think she's experiencing her ultimate fantasy come true when she's with me. I don't feel like havin' to fight her throughout the entire thing...there's really no enjoyment in that."

She nodded, "Yes sir."

During the car ride to the air strip, Emma began moving through Marie's memory and personality...her wants, her desires, her likes and dislikes...

For some reason, Emma couldn't tell whether the vivid visions of her having sex with Logan were sheer fantasy or real.

Either way, she had found a way to make Marie's experience more enjoyable...only, she couldn't tell her boss the specifics. If he knew what she was going to do in order to get Marie into this whole experience, he'd flip out...

* * *

When Marie came to, she was lying on the sofa bed in the cabin.

A familiar voice called her name, causing her to immediately sit up and look toward the door...it was Logan. He was half naked, looking like he was about to come to bed.

"Hey beautiful...miss me?"

She smiled and rushed over to him, before jumping into his arms, "Is this a dream?"

He kissed her, shook his head and let out a brief chuckle, "No...it's all real...I can promise you that."

"I thought-I thought-"

Logan put a gentle finger on her lips, "Shhh...no more thinking, alright?"

Marie took his face in her hands and lovingly kissed him, making him moan into her mouth. She backed him up to the bed and began fiddling with the tie on his pants, "Fine...no more thinking...let's just do."

He smirked and pushed her back onto the bed before yanking open her robe and roughly grasping her breast.

Unlike the couple of other times they had sex, Logan didn't really bother with foreplay this time. He kissed her neck and bit at her skin before yanking his cock out and unceremoniously thrusting himself inside of her.

He didn't make eye contact, he didn't favor her with kisses, he just closed his eyes and began rutting on top of her, fucking her so hard, she could barely get the words out when she finally tried to speak, "B-b-baby...s-s-sl-slow d-d-d-own..."

Logan completely ignored her as his hips slammed down into hers, making her cry out from the pain filled pleasure he was inflicting.

His pace grew even more erratic as he growled, "Here it comes...you ready?"

"W-w-what?"

He slammed into her one last time and threw his head back, howling like a wild beast at the moon.

As soon as he finished cumming, the cabin began slowly fading away, giving way to unfamiliar walls covered in grand paintings.

Marie blinked and shook her head as she looked around, "What's-"

Her voice broke off when she turned her eyes back to the man who still hovered above her. Just as she no longer saw the cozy cabin, she no longer saw Logan...she saw where she really was and who she was really with.

She saw Victor...

Panicking, she began desperately screaming and fighting against him, but he just laughed and clamped a hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming, "I don't know what Emma was doin' in your head, but she sure did do a number on you, huh?"

Marie tried to push against his chest with her fists, but her tiny frame was no match against him.

He looked down into her eyes, "I gotta say...you definitely lived up to all the hype. I just think it's sad you didn't have a hymen...woulda loved to pop it. What did ya do? Break it while horseback riding? Wearin' tampons?"

A tear streaked down her face as he finally removed his hand from her mouth, slipped out of her and moved from atop her trembling body. She quickly sat up, snatched up the nearest blanket and covered herself as she slowly rocked back and forth, weeping softly.

Victor quickly shook his head and pushed her back down, "Lay back...relax...need to give the swimmers time to reach their destination..."

She closed her eyes and made her mind up. The next time he touches her...she's going to drain him.

Letting out a deep breath, Marie dug deep, searching for her internal switch that turned her mutation on and off...but, for some reason, she couldn't find it.

Marie's eyes popped open to find Victor laughing at her, "Emma's really a brilliant telepath...more brilliant than Xavier and Jean Grey combined...she was able to conveniently help you misplace the switch to your mutation, so I don't have to worry about it."

She suddenly jumped up and made to slap him, but he grabbed her wrist in mid swing, "Every time you misbehave, it'll equal one round in the sack with me, beautiful."

Marie cried out in anger and snatched away from him as her laughing captor left, shutting and locking the door behind him.

* * *

Logan woke up in a puddle of his own sticky pool of drying blood.

"Marie!" was the first word he managed to cough out as he stumbled to his feet and rushed toward the road. He had no idea how long he'd been out for, but he knew it was almost sunrise.

Logan helplessly looked up and down the road, screaming her name. When it was apparent she was long gone, he dropped to his knees and cried out in agony, "MAAAARIIIIIEE!" He lowered his head, "I...I love you..."

He suddenly looked up and realized he needed help...he needed the professor to find her for him so that he could save her. Logan began rushing back to the cabin to get the communicator Storm gave him before they hit the road.

As soon as he activated it, Jean's panicked voice was on the other end, "Logan? Is everything alright? We think we've had a breach in security here. Cerebro's not working and Storm was chloroformed in her sleep. We think Victor was here..."

Logan rushed around the cabin, washing the blood off of him and changing shirts as he talked on the communicator, "Yeah, I'm sure he was. They...they have her...I don't know how they found her or for how long they've had her. Victor ripped open my jugular during a fight and I just came to..."

Jean's voice shook, "Without Cerebro we won't be able to find her...he's got so much money and so many resources at his disposal...she could be anywhere by now, I-"

Her voice broke off as he heard the professor come on the line, "Logan...come back to the school."

"Hell no! Marie's out there and I'm going to find her!"

As usual, the professor's voice was even and comforting, "There's no way to even begin performing a foot search for her Logan. If we're going to be of any help to Marie at all, this is where you should be."

Logan didn't realize he had tears in his eyes until his gruff voice cracked slightly, "I-I was s'posed to protect her from him...now he has her...and she's all alone while he's doin' god knows what to her."

"Marie is a strong young woman. I assure you, she'll get through this."

He ran a hand down his face, roughly wiping the tears away before promising the professor he'd be back in Westchester the next day.

Logan quickly packed up both he and Marie's belongings before tossing them into the SUV. He was almost ready to pull away when he stopped, turned the engine back off and ran back into the cabin.

After some searching, he found what he was looking for...the three board games they'd faithfully played since the start of their road trip.

Hopefully, they'd play again one day...

* * *

**I know many of you will be upset/feel strongly about that last part, as well you should. No flames please people. There IS a method to my madness! DO give constructive feedback though! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**

**Coming up next...**

**Marie discovers what life is like as an important member of the Brethren Court.  
**

**Cerebro's damage is analyzed.**

**Logan returns to Westchester.**

**Marie makes a startling discovery.  
**


	8. Chapter 8

Despite the fact that Logan had failed in his ever important duty of keeping Marie safe, Jean, Storm, Scott and the professor met him in the driveway. They all took turns in greeting him and offering words of comfort and encouragement. Even Scott gave him a muttered, "It'll be alright".

"Any luck with Cerebro?"

Jean and the professor traded uneasy looks before turning back to Logan, "Perhaps it would be best to talk in my office. Not many of the students know what's going on and I'd like to keep it that way."

Numbly, Logan followed them to the professor's office and plopped down on the large leather couch, "Alright. Let's hear it. When can you have Cerebro up and running so we can locate her?"

"If anyone other than Emma had been there to damage Cerebro, we might be able to make some quick repairs...but, like I said...she was a student here and she knows a lot about the inner workings of that machine."

Logan stood and began pacing, "Cut through the crap, Chuck. What are you sayin'?"

"The cords she took out and moved reversed the polarization of the machine. In order to fix it, we'd need Magneto's help in rearranging the various magnetized panels throughout the chamber."

He felt as though someone had reached inside of him and pulled out the last tiny shred of hope he'd been clinging to.

Logan quickly turned around and began stalking out of the mansion with Jean, Scott and Storm hot on his heels, "Logan! Where are you going?"

"If I need to find Magneto to find Marie, that's what I'm gonna do."

Jean was the first to catch up, "I'll come with you."

Scott's mouth dropped open, "Jean-"

Storm spoke up as well, "I'm coming too."

The fearless leader couldn't very well be the only team member left at the mansion, so he reluctantly agreed to go.

Within an hour, they'd mapped out a few of Magneto's most likely hideouts, then loaded onto the blackbird and took off in search of the enemy who might be their only hope of finding Marie.

Little did they know, he would be harder to find than they thought.  


* * *

To her knowledge, the last time she saw Logan, he was dead. Marie had given up on the hope that she would ever see him again, so holding onto the will to fight was even harder than it should have been...not that she'd given up completely. Every time Victor came to her room, she put up a fight that was warrior-worthy. All she succeeded in doing was spraining her own wrist and angering Victor...so she just tried to remain strong and survive every punch that rolled her way.

For just a few minutes a day, she'd allow herself to think about Logan.

That's what got her through the long, drawn out days and Victor's intolerable night time visits.

About two and a half weeks after her arrival, Victor decided it was time to introduce her to the Brethren Court. She initially refused, but Emma's "convincing" left Marie unable to do anything but agree. It was also sure to keep her in line during the introductory ceremony.

She stood still while a mutant named Danielle helped dress her in a long, black and red trimmed dress, then curled her hair and pinned it to the top of her head. As Danielle put the finishing touches on Marie's make up, Raven entered and noted the sour look on Marie's face. She sucked her teeth and glared at her, "You really don't appreciate your position."

Marie stared straight ahead and rolled her eyes, "No...I don't, but I really don't see how that's any of your concern."

"What's a matter, little girl?" Raven smirked and suddenly shifted her form into Logan, "Missin' someone special?"

Marie's heart clenched before she suddenly turned and slapped Raven as hard as she could. The shapeshifter had turned back into her female form as soon as the stinging hit was delivered.

She held her face and glared at Marie, "Why you little-"

Victor entered the room just as Raven was preparing to retaliate, "What the fuck is going on here?"

Danielle quickly left the room as Raven straightened and stuttered, "N-n-nothing. I was...I was-"

"It looked like you were about to HIT the mother of my child..."

Raven quickly shook her head, "No! No! I was just-"

"Was she bothering you, baby?"

Marie rolled her eyes as he wrapped an arm around her waist, "Just keep the bitch away from me."

Victor pointed at Raven, "I'll deal with you later...now get the hell out." When she was gone, he turned back to her and rubbed his hands down her arms, "You look beautiful..." Marie did everything she could to ignore him, but he snatched her face to his and looked down into her eyes, "You're late."

She snatched away from him and crossed her arms, "For what?"

Victor smirked, turned her back around and ran the back of his finger over her lower abdomen, "For this..."

Marie jumped and quickly turned away from him in disgust as she wrapped her arms around herself. Victor laughed and pulled her to him from behind before kissing her ear, "You know, I thought it would take a little time, but I guess your body wanted it..."

She wanted to snatch away and scream, but she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her raw emotion, so she just stared straight ahead as his hands roamed over her body. A knock on the door made him growl, "What?"

Emma opened the door, "It's time, sir."

He nodded before guiding Marie out of the room.

She'd only been allowed out of the suite she was kept in a couple of times before and that was only to be taken to Victor's room. She didn't even know what part of the country she was in...if she was even still in the country...

If she was, she guessed that she was in California. Out the window, she could see the ocean and it hadn't rained once since her arrival two weeks prior.

Marie was guided down the hallway, then down a dark, narrow spiral staircase which led to two very large double doors. Someone who Marie didn't recognize handed Victor a red a black robe, which he put on before taking her hand.

When the doors opened, Marie was confronted by the sight of nearly fifty mutants sitting in a chapel-like room. A unified gasp swept over the crowd as Victor began walking down the center aisle with her on his arm.

Despite the number of people there, the silence was shocking. She'd never felt so many eyes on her at once.

When they reached the altar at front, Victor sat her down in a throne-like chair, then sat beside her. A man, who was probably the equivalent of a high priest, walked up to the altar and motioned toward Marie, "She is here...the mutant goddess who will usher the liking of Romulus back into our world...creating order where there is confusion...delivering justice where there is crime...and ridding this world of the inferior maggots we know as humans!"

She jumped slightly when the crowd began clapping and cheering. After the end of the sermon/evil pep rally, Victor led her out among bowed heads.

Marie had never been more frightened in her life.  


* * *

Logan roared at the sky and punched the nearest tree, unleashing his claws in the process. After nearly three weeks of searching, their efforts to find Magneto had proved fruitless.

Jean sighed, "Logan, we have to remain calm."

"Remain calm? I was calm for two whole fuckin' weeks! She's probably..." his voice trailed off as he envisioned Victor touching her.

Storm, Jean and Scott looked at each other, "Look...we'll call the professor and find out if there's any other place we can go. We're not gonna give up, OK?"

Logan looked around at their confused faces and nodded, "Fine..."

While Jean and Scott moved back aboard the jet, Storm rested a comforting hand on Logan's tense shoulder, "Logan...we didn't want to say anything...but we all know about you and Marie..."

At this point, he could care less who knew what, so he just grunted and lowered his head as he thought about the time he spent with the only woman who'd been able to make him genuinely laugh in fifteen years. He was brought back from his fantasies by Storm's voice, "The professor picked up on your thoughts the day you got back to the mansion. We all support you...and I hope we're able to get her back. Not just for the safety of the world...but for you."

He looked at Storm and favored her with an appreciative nod. In his current mood, it was all he could muster.

After putting in a call to the professor, they discovered it might be possible that Magneto had returned to his home continent of Europe.

Logan knew that, if Magneto had gone there, they'd be looking for a needle in a hay stack, so they recruited more help from retired X Men members and some of the older students.

Hank McCoy, Bobby Drake and Peter Rasputin joined Logan and Storm in the continued North American search for Marie while Scott, Jean and Warren Worthington hopped from Poland to Germany to France in their search for Magneto.

Wherever the Brethren were keeping her...they were doing a good job at keeping her hidden.

* * *

Marie collapsed on the floor of the bathroom after spending the past fifteen minutes emptying her stomach of everything she'd eaten in the past 24 hours. The mutant named Danielle, who served as her maid, assistant and messenger found her and rushed out to get Victor, who quickly arrived and put Marie in bed.

He turned to Danielle, "Call the midwife..."

She fell asleep, feeling weak and sick, but was soon awoken by a woman entering her room with Victor. The woman made her go pee in a cup, then performed a pregnancy test. Marie sat on the bed, looking down at her hands as everyone waited for the results.

When the test was ready, the midwife checked it, then looked up and gave a brief nod to Victor, who grinned broadly.

A silent, lone tear fell down Marie's face as she let out a deep breath and sniffled. She had a feeling she pregnant, she just hated the fact that it was now confirmed.

Victor kissed the top of her head and looked down into her eyes, "How are you feeling?"

She suddenly wretched and leaned over, throwing up directly on his shoes. She would have laughed if she didn't feel so sick. Her nausea had perfect timing...

Victor jumped backwards and yelled, "Shit!"

The next morning, Victor came to check on her again, "Feeling better today?"

Marie sighed, "I need fresh air. I wanna go outside."

"Can't do that yet."

She furrowed her eyebrows, "Why not?"

"I'm getting a special little headband made for you. It should be ready soon, but until then, you have to stay in the house. I have a unique roof on this place that keeps nosey telepaths, like that professor, out."

Marie cursed under her breath. This asshole had thought of everything.

She stood and walked into the bathroom where she started the water and pinned her hair up, "I have to take a shower...do you mind?"

He smirked and watched her, "Not at all..."

Marie tried to close the door to the bathroom, but he stopped her, "Leave it open."

She closed her eyes and began undressing. He stared at her through the clear glass door while she showered, eyeing her hungrily and readjusting his bulging erection.

When she exited the shower, she quickly wrapped herself in a towel before even bothering to dry herself. Victor stood and walked over to her, making her back up into the nearest wall.

She trembled and closed her eyes as he gripped her waist and started to pull her body to his, but he stopped himself and rushed from the room, leaving a confused, but immensely relieved Marie standing in the bathroom, shaking.

Minutes later, Marie heard moans and the rhythmic creaking of a bed coming from the room next door...Victor's room. After several moments, she heard a voice that sounded startlingly familiar to her own cry out Victor's name just as he roared "Marie!"

She waited a few minutes before opening her bedroom door. The guard who was sitting in front of her door looked up, "Do you need something?"

Marie slowly shook her head and watched as Raven, who had shape shifted into Marie's likeness, walked out of Victor's bedroom with a bright red face and downturned eyes. She quickly turned back into the other human form she typically used when she realized she had company.

Her eyes briefly snapped up to Marie's to glare at her before she rushed by.

Seconds later, Victor exited his room, straightening out his jacket. He favored Marie with a quick wink before disappearing around the corner.

She suddenly felt the need to throw up again...and it wasn't because of the hormones.

* * *

The following weeks passed by slowly and torturously, but conditions did improve for her.

Although she could tell he wanted to, Victor halted all night time visits, possibly because he was afraid his typically rough handling of her would harm the baby. Instead, he made Raven take on Marie's form so that he could have his way with her likeness. He even made Raven alter her Marie-form as her body began to change with her pregnancy.

In the meantime, Marie tried to keep her mind off of the cold, hard facts of her situation and just concentrate on reading the millions of books she had access to.

For a brief, fleeting moment after finding out she was pregnant, she wondered if her baby was Logan's. She quickly dismissed the thought, knowing if that were true and Victor found out, it would mean a death sentence for both her and her child, so she refused to even allow herself to entertain that scenario, for fear that Emma's random telepathic spying would discover her little secret.

After a few more weeks, she was finally fitted with the small, telepathy-blocking metal head band and allowed to venture outside under extremely close supervision. She also used it against Emma, allowing herself to fantasize about the few perfect days she spent with Logan, making love, playing board games and talking.

During her walks outside, she got a better look at the mansion, which looked to be a renovated, old Spanish villa with the most amazing ocean views Marie had ever seen. She had absolutely no clue were she was until nearly three months to the day after she arrived.

One day, her body/prison guards were feeling exceptionally generous with her time outside and decided to escort her down to the beach.

They'd just told her they were ready to head back when she spotted a beach sign that was in Spanish...possibly warning about jellyfish.

A sinking feeling invaded her gut when she realized that it was likely she was no longer in America.

How would Logan find her? How would _anyone_ find her?

* * *

During a particularly quiet afternoon sometime during her third month of pregnancy, Victor showed up in Marie's room with with some shopping bags and boxes.

She hated it...it reminded her of the night in the hotel when he had designer clothes delivered to her. She had lapped up every second of his false charm and she couldn't be more ashamed of it.

"What's this?" she asked, looking up from her book.

He tossed the garment bag onto her bed, "We've got company coming over for dinner. I wanted you to look nice."

Up until then, she'd been forced to take all of her meals inside of her room. Venturing out into the mansion for dinner was an interesting prospect.

"Try it on."

She gave him a perplexed look, "Right now?"

He nodded and sat down on the arm chair near her bed. She sighed and picked up the dress before walking toward the bathroom, but he suddenly spoke up, "I want you to change...in front of me."

Marie let out a shivering breath before turning away from him and slowly sliding out of her sweat pants, then her tank top. She reached for the dress, but Victor, who she didn't realize had stood and was now directly behind her, took her by the waist and turned her around so that he could look down at the slight swell in her lower abdomen.

She violently jerked away when he reached to touch her belly, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her closer, "Don't. Move."

Marie looked away and allowed him to run his hand over her stomach. He smiled, "It's good that you're showing this early. He's growing quickly..."

She snapped her eyes upwards to glare at him, "He?"

"Obviously it's assumed Romulus will come back in male form..."

Marie quickly moved toward the bed and picked up the dress to slip it on. She didn't want to mention that she felt within her heart of hearts that the baby she carried was a girl.

She straightened the dress out and glared at her own reflection, then at him, "What kind of jack ass gets a pregnant woman a dress made out of this material? It clings to every curve and bump."

"A jack ass that wants to show off this bump", he said as he put a hand over her stomach, which she promptly pushed off and moved away from. "The followers want to know their messiah is on the way..." He smirked and plopped down on the bed as she rolled her eyes, "You weren't always so hard to get along with. Why can't we just go back to those days when you were that wide eyed girl in Calgary...make it like old times."

Her mouth dropped open, "Are you serious? Everything you told me during those 'old times' was a lie! Your charm, your affection...all some sick facade so you could succeed at your evil plan! You're probably gonna kill me after I give birth to your little spawn!"

She took a step back when Victor suddenly stood and began backing her up against the nearest wall. He raised a clawed finger up to her face and narrowed his eyes, "Wanting you has never been a lie..."

Marie stared at him in silence for a few moments before her eyes began to shift about nervously, "I think you should back up...I'm feeling sick."

Victor eagerly stepped backwards, obviously remembering the terrible fate his shoes met the last time she got sick in his presence.

She quickly sought refuge in the bathroom, closing the door behind her and looking in the mirror.

By the time she emerged from the bathroom, Victor had left so that he could get dressed for the dinner party. When he came back to pick her up for dinner, he looked her over and grunted approvingly before escorting her to the giant dining room which already had a few, nicely dressed mutants milling about, sipping drinks.

She stared longingly at a glass of wine and sighed as Victor pulled her over to a few people. They treated her like she was a conversation piece in an art gallery, talking more _about_ her than _to_ her as they stared at her slightly changed figure.

Marie sighed when her stomach growled, "When are these guests gonna arrive?"

Victor turned toward the door and smiled at the newcomers, "Ah...Erik.."

She followed his eyes to the doorway just as an older man entered, flanked by two tattooed women. Victor guided her toward him, "Marie...I'd like you to meet a friend of mine. This is Erik Lensherr, also known as Magneto."

* * *

**Coming up next...**

**Raven and Marie have a confrontation that threatens the health of her unborn child.**

**Marie has her first ultrasound.  
**

**Scott and Jean capture one of Magneto's cronies.**

**Victor forces Marie to make a tough decision.**

**As always, my lovely readers, please please REVIEW!  
**


	9. Chapter 9

The name "Magneto" sounded vaguely familiar to Marie, but she just couldn't seem to place where she had heard it before.

His sparkling blue eyes roamed over her body, "So...this is her."

"Yes, this is her...and this is him..." Victor said as he put a hand on her belly.

Erik raised a brow, "I see. Well, it is lovely to make your acquaintance, my dear."

Victor quickly spoke up, knowing Marie wouldn't respond to their guest, "The pregnancy has been a little difficult for her."

That earned a somewhat sympathetic nod from the older man before they all moved to the large dining table. She was relieved they were finally about to eat. Ever since the nausea had started to let up, her appetite seemed to kick into over drive.

As conversation swirled around her, she ate in silence, concentrating on the delicious pork tenderloin that was in front of her. Of course, she felt eyes on her at all times, but the burning gaze of Raven was inescapable. Halfway through her main entree, she looked up to see Raven glaring at her from across the room. She hadn't been invited as an official guest to the dinner party and was standing just outside of the doorway leading into the kitchen.

Marie took a sip of her water and sighed. That shape shifting bitch could have Victor and their sick cult...she would trade places with her in a second if she could.

When someone mentioned a "birthing ceremony", Marie's head snapped up, "I'm sorry...the what?"

A green skinned male mutant leaned over to look down the table at her, "The birthing ceremony..."

She furrowed her eyebrows, "What is that?"

Victor took a gulp of his drink, "When you go into labor, the highest members of the Brethren Court will be granted the astounding privilege to witness the birth of the child."

Marie started to shake her head and express her outrage, but Emma, who was leaning against the opposite wall, seized control of her ability to talk and rendered her speechless. She squeezed her utensils so tight, she actually succeeded in bending the fork.

When Victor escorted her to her room that night, she snatched away from him, stomped to her bed and threw her shoes across the room, "I am NOT gonna allow some group of sickos to stare at my...at my EVERYTHING while I'm giving birth! Labor and delivery is hard enough without a bunch of strangers staring at your ass for the fun of it!"

Victor crossed his arms, "This is how it's supposed to be done. Deal with it."  


* * *

When Scott and Jean caught up to one of Magneto's henchmen somewhere along the Western coast of France, they immediately called Logan to let him know they found someone that might be valuable in getting a step closer to Marie. Unfortunately, the fast talking mutant who called himself "Multiple Man" was not willing to cooperate with Scott and Jean's diplomatic questioning tactics.

He'd tried to escape several times, but Jean's ability to block his mutation kept him from being successful in his attempts.

Logan had hopped on a plane as soon as he found out that they were having problems with getting information out of the guy. If there was information to be had..._he_ would get it out of him.

He arrived in France, jet lagged and cranky...primed condition for interrogation.

He entered the countryside cottage Jean and Scott were in and immediately punched Multiple Man in the face, breaking his nose.

Scott jumped, "Jesus, Logan! Was that necessary?"

Logan grabbed the bleeding mutant by his collar and sat him back up as he snarled at Scott, "You've had him for over 11 hours and you haven't gotten a word outta him. I've waited over three months for a lead on her and this bastard is holdin' out on us, so...yeah. It was necessary."

Jean stepped forward and quickly reset the man's broken nose, making him cry out in pain and cradle his bleeding face, "God! What the hell is wrong with you?"

Logan suddenly leaned down and stared into Multiple Man's eyes, "She may be able to reset a nose, but I can do some damage that is irreparable" he growled and unsheathed his claws, "Start talking, or I start removing body parts."

The mutant's eyes widened as Logan took his hand and got ready to slice into his finger, "OK! I'll talk!"

Logan quickly sheathed his claws, "Where's Magneto?"

"He...he went out of town for the weekend."

Scott crossed his arms, "Why? Out of town where?"

Jean tossed Multiple Man a towel for his bleeding nose as he spoke, "He said he was looking into joining forces with some religious group. Sounded like a cult to me."

Jean and Scott's eyes widened as they looked at each other. That definitely sounded like The Mutant Brethren...

"Where did he go?" barked Logan.

Multiple Man's eyes darted about. Either he was busy trying to come up with a lie or he was desperately trying to remember the truth that could possibly save his limbs, "Uh...uh, I'm sure it was near a beach. I was jealous because Arclight and Calisto kept talking about tanning and I wouldn't be there to see it..." His voice trailed off as he noted the angry look on Logan's face. Obviously, it was time for him to get on with the story. "It was...a Spanish island...it was off the coast of Spain."

Jean stepped forward, "You're sure?"

He nodded in certainty, "Yeah. I remember Mags saying they'd have to take a plane to Valencia, then take a ferry boat to the island, but I don't remember the name! Honest!"

Logan looked up at Jean, "How many islands are off the coast of Spain?"

She raised her shoulders, "Three? I think? I'm not sure."

"That's better than having to cover a whole country...Scott, you bring your laptop?"

He nodded, "Always."

Logan looked back at their prisoner, "Good...there's gotta be a property owner's database...we have 'em in the US."

Jean nodded, "Right. We can find out the name of the counties on the islands and search the municipality records...maybe they have a tax assessor's site or something."

An hour later, Jean called Logan over to the computer, "There's three islands. I figure he'd go for the smaller, more exclusive ones rather than be near the larger population. We found a string of large properties."

Logan, who had just finished securing their hostage, rushed over to look at the laptop screen, "You find owners?"

Scott scrolled down the pages, "Wow...some pretty famous people own property there..."

"George Clooney?" Jean suddenly exclaimed as Scott scrolled past his property profile. Both men, and even their captive, rolled their eyes. She looked at Scott, "What? He's a movie star..."

"Right..."

"We can't assume that Victor would be dumb enough to put the property in his name. He knows people would be looking for him."

Sure enough, they didn't find anything in Victor Creed's name. They spent hours, looking for dummy corporations and anagrams. Even after Scott and Jean had fallen asleep in nearby chairs, Logan was still searching through the large list of property owner names.

He rubbed his eyes and stood to wander into the kitchen and find something to eat and drink. He hadn't had anything since he boarded the plane nearly 24 hours ago. He helped himself to a sandwich, then desperately searched the cabinets for libations.

Of course, being France, the only thing he found was wine.

_Oh well...this'll have to do._

As he rubbed his neck and stood in front of the open laptop, he happened to glance at the screen and spot a homeowner's name. He turned his head to the side and squinted before slowly reading it aloud, "Verrediccto y Asociados..."

Jean yawned and sat up, "What did you say?"

Logan was too busy grabbing the pen and writing out "Verrediccto". As he began rearranging the letters, Jean and Scott walked over to him and gasped upon seeing that he was able to spell out "Victor Creed" by rearranging the letters.

"Verrediccto and Associates...this is it. This is the dummy company he used to buy the property!" Jean exclaimed.

Scott cocked his head to the side as he pulled up the survey of the property which included two guest houses and one servants quarters, "How many bad guys do you think can fit in sixteen thousand square feet?"

Logan looked down at the computer screen and noted how large the property was, then turned to Jean, "Call the professor...we're gonna need reinforcements...lots of 'em..."  


* * *

Victor took Marie out of her room and walked her around the hallways of the mansion, showing her off to the various followers who lived on the grounds and worked inside of the estate.

Upon her request to go to the library, he took her there, then sat down on the couch while she browsed the shelves, looking for a few more books to take back to her room.

"The TV isn't working out for you?"

She rolled her eyes, "Everything's in Spanish."

"You watch movies?"

Marie glared, "No Victor. I'm the first young adult in the history of the modern world that doesn't watch movies. Congratulations, you've made a real discovery."

"Have you always been this much of a bitch or is it the pregnancy?"

"I think it's the whole, being held against my will, thing. I'm sure you can realize how unpleasant being held hostage can make a person."

Victor stood and walked over to her, "Strangely enough, I get turned on when you talk to me like that..."

She stealthily moved away to look through another row of books, "I'm sure that you'll wanna kill me after I have this baby."

He narrowed his eyes, "No I won't. What makes you think that?"

"You can honestly tell me you don't fantasize about killing me?"

Victor casually shrugged his shoulders, "I fantasize about killing everyone. It's what I do."

"That's a comfort", she said sarcastically as she turned back around to pluck a book off of the shelf.

He suddenly put a hand on her shoulder and turned her back around, "I'm serious. I want you...by my side..."

Marie furrowed her eyebrows, "What do you mean?"

"I mean...if you agree to be my wife, I might have less of a reason to kill you after the baby is born." He noted the startled, taken aback look on her face before leaning down to lay a quick kiss on her cheek, "Think about it..."

And with that, he was gone...much to her relief.

By now, Marie realized that there was no way he would continue taking advantage of her. She knew that he wouldn't do anything to jeopardize the health of the child she carried, so she typically tolerated his groping, kisses and caresses for a few moments before he disappeared to find Raven and make her turn into *Marie* so that he could have his way with her.

The entire thing made her sick, but she was just glad she wasn't having to subject herself to his vulgar intentions.

Almost as soon as Victor left, one of her guards appeared and sat in a chair just inside the doorway of the library. Marie sighed and sat down on the couch to read, doing her best to ignore the large man's presence.

About an hour after Victor left the library, Raven entered, looking as bitchy and put out as ever. Possibly because she'd just been forced to have sex as *Marie*.

The shapeshifter turned to the guard, "You can take a break. She's fine with me."

Marie raised a brow at that and closed her book, "What are you doing here?"

Raven ran her hand over one of the statue closest to her, "Just checking on you...to see if you're still being an ungrateful bitch."

Marie glared, set her book aside and stood, "Well, it certainly is good of you to check...because I am. Is that all?"

She crossed her arms, "I suppose you know what Victor does..."

"Victor does a lot of things..." Marie murmured as she averted her eyes.

Raven suddenly raised her voice, "Every day! He makes me turn into you! You pathetic little ingrate!"

She didn't know what to say to the hysterical woman in front of her, so she tried to walk past her toward the door. Raven grabbed Marie's arm and snatched her back with surprising force, "I love him! Did you know that? I wanted him! But he couldn't see me past his want for you! You ungrateful cow!"

Raven punctuated her last word by pushing Marie hard in the shoulders, making her stumble backwards. Marie retaliated by shoving Raven back and yelling, "Back off, bitch! It's not my fault that you're so crazy even Victor doesn't want you!"

Suddenly, the shapeshifter's eyes flashed yellow before landing a hard punch to the side of Marie's face, knocking her off balance and sending her crashing into a statue behind her before falling to the ground among the shattered pieces of porcelain.

Raven jumped on top of her and wrapped both hands around her neck as she began squeezing, effectively cutting off Marie's air supply.

Marie kicked and clawed at Raven's face as her yellow eyes glared down at hers.

Just when she was about to pass out from lack of oxygen, Raven was suddenly snatched from atop her and thrown clean across the room. She crashed painfully against a book shelf, then landed with a heavy thud against the floor.

Victor stalked toward her with his chest heaving, his claws out and his teeth bared. Raven sat up and tried to scramble backwards, "Victor...please...I'm sorry...don't do this. I lo-"

She didn't have the chance to finish her sentence. All Marie could see were droplets of blood and all she could hear were Raven's screams and Victor's angry roars as he angrily ripped into her.

Marie had curled up in a ball on the floor and covered her face until the room fell silent. She jumped when she suddenly felt a pair of arms easily lift her off of the floor and carry her out of the room, "Have the midwife meet me in the infirmary! Call the physician!"

Victor took her outside to, what used to be, a guest house that now served as her own, personal infirmary. When Marie opened her eyes and looked around, she saw Victor standing over her, covered in blood and still panting from anger and exertion.

She looked down to realize that he had inadvertently gotten Raven's blood on her clothing. A brief glance in the mirror revealed a bruised cheek and a drop of blood at the corner of her mouth near a small cut.

"What happened?" the midwife asked as she entered the room and immediately turned on the ultrasound machine.

Marie stuttered, "I was attacked...I was punched and I fell into a statue...then she choked me."

Victor stepped forward, "Check the baby now...I need to know-"

The midwife nodded, "Yes sir."

She pulled over the ultrasound machine before squirting some gel onto Marie's belly, then placed the wand on her stomach and began moving it around. No one else could see what she was seeing on the screen since it was turned to face only her.

There was a heavy silence that fell over the room in the moments before the physician arrived to clean and bandage the cuts on Marie's hand and arms that had been caused by falling to the floor with the broken pieces of statue.

When he finished patching her up, he walked over to the midwife and looked at the ultrasound screen.

Victor's patience had run out, "Is the baby alright?"

"Yes sir. I know you can't feel it yet Marie, but the fetus is moving quite a lot. It's a bit hard to get a clear view of everything when your little one does laps around your uterus...", the midwife flipped a switch, which immediately activated the speaker system on the machine, allowing them to hear the strong, regular heartbeat of the baby resting safely within Marie's womb.

Victor let out a breath as his shoulders relaxed visibly. He gave Marie an unwanted kiss on the top of her head, then went into the next room to wash up. He had someone bring him fresh clothes from the house and returned to Marie's side, cleansed of the evidence of his violent act.

The midwife gave Marie strict instructions to take it easy and stay off of her feet as much as possible for the next few days. Victor picked her up and carried her back to the mansion without saying a word.

When they passed the library, one of the doors was closed and a few people were scurrying about, cleaning and disposing of the various body parts.

Victor gently deposited her on her bed just before Danielle brought a tray of food in, then silently excused herself.

He sat on the edge of her bed and stared at the floor as she picked over her food.

"Eat", he said quickly and firmly, making her jump.

Despite her hate for him and her knowledge that he wouldn't actually hurt her, she knew that now wasn't the time to push him, so she took a sizable bite of her sandwich.

After a few moments, he glanced at her, "Why'd she do it?"

Marie swallowed the last of her sandwich and looked down, "I think she...she was jealous. She just went crazy."

He moved her food tray and laid on her bed. When she looked at him confusedly, he gently pulled her down onto the bed and placed a hand over her belly, "After you give birth...you will become my wife. You will stay here to raise our child. You will not try to leave. You will not require Emma's constant attitude readjustments. You will do all of these things...or you will die."

She was too stunned to respond, but she did take the time to contemplate her chances...and honestly, death didn't sound all that bad at this point. If the child really is Victor's and the prophecy was true, she'd have to contend with being the mother of the modern day, mutant version of Adolf Hitler.

Marie didn't want any part of it.

Maybe when the time came and the child was born, she would choose death, and hopefully run into Logan in the afterlife.  


* * *

The following day, Storm, Hank, Bobby, Jubilee, Kitty and John met Logan, Scott, Jean and their hostage in Valencia, Spain.

They rented a yacht, then set sail to do some recon work by circling the island. When they reached the tiny little piece of Mediterranean paradise, Logan, Jean and Hank stood on the balcony of the large boat, taking turns looking through a pair of binoculars as they circled the island.

Jean shook her head and handed the binoculars back to Logan, "Jesus...it's huge. Security looks tight."

Logan grunted as he scanned the villa estate, which sat atop a beach side cliff, "Best point of entry looks to be the cliff. We're gonna have to climb."

Hank nodded and took the binoculars, "If only we had more time. We could watch the security personnel for shift changes..."

"Gather the troops, we've gotta go in there with a tight plan of attack."

A few minutes later, the X Men had gathered in the living room of the yacht, wearing their leather uniforms and awaiting word from their team leader.

Scott looked at all of them, then turned to Logan, "I think you should be the one to lead this..."

Logan nodded and stepped forward, "We're not going in to exterminate them. We're not going in to be heroes. We're just going in for Marie, got it?"

"But...won't they keep coming for her?"

He nodded, "Yes, but the followers, we can handle in the long term. Victor, the leader...he's the problem, and I intend on handling him personally. I am the only one who can kill him. He has my healing factor, my reflexes, my strength and my speed. I need you all to be the ones to get her out while I take him out."

All of the heads in the room nodded as choruses of "We won't let you down" resounded among the team members.

Logan lowered his head and put his palms on the table in front of him. He was going to have to get to the hard part now...

"Now, when it comes to Marie...you have to be careful. There's a really good chance that Victor...that he...uh...that she's pregnant, so if we do have to climb the cliff to get in, that won't be the way you'll be able to get out if she's with you."

Everyone in the room traded uneasy looks. By now, the news of Logan's feelings for Marie had made its way through the X Men grapevine. They all knew that this was a labor of love for Logan...and they all felt sorry for him.

Kitty took a closer look at the blue prints and pictures splayed out on the table and pursed her lips, "It looks like there's a cave at ocean level...it's right below the property. Do you think there's a way to access the main house from there?"

Everyone joined her at the table to examine the evidence. Hank nodded, "There's a possibility. If this villa is as old as I think it is, it was common for aristocracy to have homes with secret passageways and water access."

Logan nodded, "Alright. That looks like our best bet. We go in three hours under cover of darkness. These people are organized, strong and they're all mutants, so you might encounter powers and abilities you've never heard of before."

After going over tactical details, rendezvous points and synchronizing watches, they prepared to penetrate the estate.

Logan stood on the balcony, staring at the mansion as darkness began blanketing the landscape, providing a natural concealer for their impending attack.

He closed his eyes and whispered, "I'm comin', baby...I'm gonna make it alright..."

* * *

**REVIEW please! I know I say that at the end of every chapter, but I mean it! I keep getting all these story alerts and favorites in my inbox, but only like one or two pieces of feedback. Please tell me what you think.**

**Coming up next...**

**Victor and Logan have an epic show down**

**Magneto helps his new allies confront his old enemies  
**

**Someone makes a narrow escape**

**A heartfelt reunion takes place  
**


	10. Chapter 10

**I suck at fight/battle scenes, so please do forgive me!**

* * *

Marie had just gotten dressed after getting out of the shower when Victor came into her room, "How long have you been on your feet?"

"I just showered."

He relaxed just slightly and glared, "Get back in bed."

Marie was obedient, but angered as she sat back down in bed and ran a hand through her damp hair. He sat on the edge, "Have you given any thought to our talk from last night?"

"Yes, and I don't want to talk about it."

"Well, unfortunately for you, I don't really care what you want right now unless it has something to do with the well being of my child."

Marie could have spit at him, but instead, she just kept quiet and looked down at her hands before murmuring, "I hate you..."

"You'll get used to it."

Victor watched her as she laid down and turned her back to him. He spooned up behind her and grabbed her shoulders to still her squirming, "Calm. Down."

She let out a frustrated groan as he reached around and cupped her belly, "Do you have to do this?"

"Shut up the damn complaining. You're gonna be bowing to this child the same as we all are. It's important that you learn how to show him the respect he deserves as the future leader of our world."

Marie rolled her eyes and stared straight ahead as he stroked her stomach and continued to drone on and on about all of the things they have to do in preparation for the arrival of their son. Sometime during his Brethren pitch, she fell asleep, with him leaving soon after.

She didn't know how long she'd been asleep when she heard gun shots, hurried footsteps and shouting just outside her window.

Victor and Emma suddenly burst into the room, "Get your shoes on!"

Marie jumped and did what she was told. She had no idea if she was actually in danger or possibly being rescued.

Emma narrowed her eyes and touched her temple, "There's a telepath with them...she's..."

Emma's voice cut off as she suddenly grabbed her head with both of her hands. The telepaths were engaging in an epic fight within their minds. Victor picked Marie up and started rushing out of the room, abandoning Emma as she crumpled to the floor, locked in a battle with Jean, who must've been nearby.

He rushed down a dark stairway that led to a secret passageway. They entered a dark corridor, that smelled of the ocean and seemed more like a cave than anything else. The stone walls were lined with torches and the floor was nothing more than a plush layer of dark sand.

The sounds of commotion were far behind them as he set her down, grabbed a torch and took her hand to pull her down the cave toward the mouth, which, so far, was not in sight, "We have to move quick before the tide comes in."

The sudden roar of a voice stopped them, "VICTOOOR!"

Marie snatched out of Victor's grasp and turned to face the direction the voice came from, "Logan? Logan! Log-"

Victor's large hand covered her mouth and began pulling her backwards through the wet sand as she struggled against him, he whispered urgently, "Don't struggle! You're hurt the baby!"

Luckily, her struggles had slowed she and Victor's movement down substantially and Logan had heard her calls. The tell tale *snikt* of his claws were heard somewhere in the distance as Victor growled and snatched Marie behind him.

He stood, waiting for the angered feral to emerge from the darkness. There was a long moment of silence...too long.

Suddenly, Logan leapt from the dark and tackled Victor, impaling him with all six claws directly in the chest. A strangled roar escaped Victor's throat as he hit the ground underneath Logan.

Victor growled as Logan removed one set of claws and aimed them at his throat as he coughed and laughed, "So...you're alive."

"Unfortunately for you."

"It doesn't matter...you're too late...she's already carrying my son."

Logan's face flinched as he glanced up at Marie, who stood against the wall with widened eyes that were full of fear, yet hope that she might be rescued from the nightmare she'd been living for over three months.

Victor took advantage of Logan's brief distraction by using his lower body strength to catapult Logan off of him, knocking him on his ass just a few feet from where Marie stood.

Logan hopped back to his feet just in time to field a brutal, slashing attack from Victor that caught him directly in the face. Logan retaliated by thrusting his fist forward and stabbing Victor directly in the gut.

Marie was so engulfed in watching the fight, she barely noticed when the water that recently entered the cave rose above her ankles. Logan had just slammed Victor against the cave wall when they finally noticed the water rising.

Logan took note of the situation and quickly shouted, "Marie! Get out! Go!"

She wasn't sure what she would do once she got "out", but she trusted Logan, so she began wading further into the water, which was soon up to her waist.

Meanwhile, in the mansion's main level, Emma was still locked in a telepathic battle with Jean. The Phoenix force within the red head had begun to rear its head, successfully overwhelming the lesser telepath. Scott, Storm, Jubilee and Hank fought their way through the mansion, disposing of bad guys left and right while Kitty and Bobby planted bombs in strategic areas throughout the property. They came upon Magneto and two of his henchwomen, who immediately recognized that the skill and power of the X Men was too much for them to handle.

They began retreating, and Scott made the executive decision not to go after them. They had bigger fish to fry at the moment...

* * *

The sounds of the fight behind Marie had been taken over by the rush of the water, whose strong current threatened to sweep her backwards the higher it got. She needed to get out of the cave before it filled with water and trapped her...

She moved as fast as she could, but the closer she got to the mouth of the cave, the higher the water was. There was barely a foot of clearance between the water level and the ceiling of the cave when she could just see the exit...

Marie screamed, "Logan!" just before being swallowed up by the tide. She swam as hard as she could against the current, which continued to rhythmically sweep her backwards, negating the few feet she had managed to swim forward.

She fought hard, but soon, her lungs felt as though they would burst. She blacked out just after she felt a pair of strong hands grab her and begin yanking her through the water, defying the current with a strength she didn't physically possess.

* * *

Logan had left Victor unconscious, floating face down in the rising water when he heard her scream. He would have loved to finish the job...but Marie was in danger. He hadn't come this far to let her drown in some goddamn cave.

As he dove into the water and swam toward the mouth of the cave, he could only hope that Victor drowned before regaining consciousness.

Luckily, he didn't have to swim far to find her.

She had fallen unconscious by the time he resurfaced just outside of the cave. By the time he climbed aboard the yacht, Hank and the rest of the team had already made it aboard. Logan immediately handed her off to Hank and Jean, who started performing CPR.

The sound of an explosion in the distance told him that Bobby and Kitty had done their job of planting the bombs.

She came to, coughing up water and gasping for air, then fell right back unconscious, only this time, her heart rate was normal and her breathing was steady.

He fell asleep at Marie's bedside, but awoke when Jean came in to came in to check on her.

She checked her pulse, then glanced at Logan, "Did you kill Victor?"

Logan ran a hand over his tired faced, "I hope so..."

She looked up, startled, "But...but..."

He sighed, "Time was kind of of the essence Jeanie." She bit her lip and nodded as she put her stethoscope away and began taking a closer look at the cuts and bruises hat riddled Marie's arms and neck. It was obviously something Logan hadn't had the opportunity to notice yet. He leaned forward a little, "What's wrong?"

She hesitated before motioning toward Marie's neck, "Um...she's got some bruising around her neck and cuts up and down her arms..."

Logan tensed, "Do you think Victor did this?"

Jean shook her head, "It's not likely he'd do anything to jeopardize the health of the baby..."

He looked down, "Is the baby OK?"

"At this point, there's no way to know for sure. I don't have the proper equipment to check the baby's heartbeat..." She paused and narrowed her eyes, "Do you think she'll want to keep it?"

Logan paled at the thought, "Let's deal with all that when we get back to New York."

* * *

Marie awoke feeling nauseated...which wasn't an uncommon thing recently, but the rocking she was feeling definitely wasn't helping.

_Wait a minute...rocking?_

She sat up with a start, only to feel a gentle hand on her shoulder, "Take it easy baby..."

Marie's eyes widened as she ignored his suggestion and instead, sat up and grabbed him into a desperate hug. Tears rolled down her cheek as she gripped him to her desperately, "I-I-thought you were dead...then I thought everything that happened was a dream..."

He quieted her with a gentle kiss, "It's OK...I'm here now."

"Where am I?"

"You're on a yacht...we're sailing to Ireland, then from there, we're gonna take black bird home."

She slowly sat up and put a hand on her stomach, "I guess you know I'm pregnant."

Logan nodded and looked down, "I'm really sorry about that...I should've gotten to you sooner."

Marie took a deep breath and suddenly blurted out the words she'd been too afraid to even think for the past three and a half months, "The baby might be yours." She was so relieved when the words fell from her mouth. It was as if she'd finally exhaled after holding her breath for an hour.

Now, she could think it. Now, she could say it. Now, she could hope it. Now...she could believe it.

_The baby might be his...the baby might be his.._.

She couldn't quite tell if he looked happy, surprised, sad, mad or all of the above at her revelation. He leaned in a little bit, "You think that there's a chance this baby is mine?"

Marie gave a single, pronounced nod.

He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her into a hug as he caressed the back of her head, "I hope...I really hope that the baby is mine."

Logan wished he could have given her a bigger reaction, but the fact that the baby _might_ be his just wasn't good enough right now.

It didn't negate the fact that Victor had subjected her to his disgusting, unwanted attentions.

It didn't change the fact that she had suffered and been abused and exploited...it hadn't changed the fact that he failed to protect her.

Logan kissed her cheek and whispered, "I love you, Marie. Whatever happens...I promise...we'll make it work."

When they were finally on the jet, making their way home, the team took the time to debrief. Logan let Scott do the talking since he was busy keeping Marie calm.

"The Brethren's forces have been depleted...but they're still out there. The professor believes we should reconvene in Westchester, where Marie will be examined thoroughly. After that, a decision will be made regarding our next course of action."

* * *

As soon as they returned to the mansion, Marie was taken down to the med lab to get examined. Jean performed a pelvic examination before Hank drew blood and asked her questions about how she felt.

Logan stood by and watched as they poked and prodded, resisting the urge to growl when Marie hissed in pain as her blood was drawn. She gave him a reassuring smile, "I'm OK."

"Marie...have you thought of...um...terminating the pregnancy?" asked Jean quietly.

She glanced at Logan, then nodded sadly at Jean, "Everyday..."

Logan squeezed her hand reassuringly, silently letting her know that it was OK. He understood exactly why she'd think that. If the kid was Victor's and he turned out to be half as bad as the ancient documents described him to be, time out wouldn't be nearly enough to keep him in line.

Jean spoke slowly and cautiously, not really knowing the right words to say, "Uhm...just for the sake of-"

Logan held up a hand, cutting her off, "Marie and I were together right before Victor..." He sighed and gave up trying to tell the whole story, "...the baby might be mine."

Hank, who had been puttering around on the other side of the lab suddenly dropped a tray upon hearing the news. He profusely apologized and cleared his throat as Jean turned to look back at them, "OK...that complicates things."

Logan shifted his weight uneasily, "Isn't there some sort of test you can do?"

Jean nodded, "There are two tests...but both come with serious risks and shouldn't be performed without extenuating circumstances present."

"We're trying to figure out if she's carrying Damien. What can be more extenuating than that?"

Hank raised a brow, "Good point there."

"The first procedure is Chorionic Villus Sampling. That's when a sample of tissue is taken from the placenta. The sample could be tested against Logan's DNA...but I wouldn't go with that test. It's typically done during the end of the first trimester and comes with the risk of infection and miscarriage...but since you've already been through so much, the risks might be even greater."

Hank nodded, "I agree with Jean. In your case, I'd suggest we wait until your 16th or 17th week, then perform an amniocentesis. That's when a needle is inserted into the stomach and amniotic fluid is collected. We can use the DNA in the fluid to test against Logan's."

Marie bit her bottom lip. She didn't want to have to wait any longer to find out who the father of her baby was. Each passing moment of this pregnancy was making the bond with her unborn child stronger. She didn't know if she'd have the strength to "get rid" of the baby if she stayed pregnant for too long...even if it did turn out to be Victor's.

Despite the war inside of her head, she sighed, "Alright...I'll wait and do the amniocentesis."

Logan looked her in the eye, "You're sure?"

Marie nodded, "I'm sure."

* * *

**REVIEW please! Thanks so much for all the kind words. Fell free to give feedback/constructive criticism if you see fit. You know how it is. If it's constructive and done is good taste, I'm all for it.**

**Coming up next...**

**A hitch is thrown in the DNA testing plans.**

**Marie and Logan find out the sex of her baby.  
**

**The team escorts Marie and Logan to a safe house.**

**Things go wrong...again.  
**


	11. Chapter 11

He stared at her as she pulled the clothes out of the bags Storm had brought her. Marie couldn't fit into any of the clothes she'd left behind in the cabin that he had hung onto, so Storm and Jubilee went to the local maternity store and got her a couple things. She at least needed some articles of clothing that would last until after the paternity test.

Logan wished there was another way it could be done. He didn't like the idea of her having to deal with such a painful procedure, but she reassured him it had to happen.

Marie's voice snapped him from his thoughts as she did a little turn, "What do you think?"

He smiled sadly, "You look beautiful...as usual."

She bit her lip and sat down beside him, "This is a nightmare, isn't it?"

Logan stared into her eyes before cupping her face in one hand and shaking his head, "No...a nightmare would be if I never saw you again. I'm thankful I got you back. Right now, that's all that matters."

Marie smiled and leaned over to lay a chaste kiss against his mouth...well, it was supposed to be chaste, but it quickly turned into a heated make out session that found Marie straddling his lap.

He desperately ran his hands up her back and through her hair as their tongues intertwined and explored each others mouths. The only time he broke the kiss was to pull her dress over her head and toss it to the floor.

His breath caught in his throat when he got an eyeful of her gorgeous breasts, which were much larger than he remembered. Logan leaned forward and captured one of her perfect, pink nipples in his mouth, making her jump and gasp in pleasure.

It was immediately obvious that her breasts were not only larger, but they were also far more sensitive. She began grinding down on him and gasping as his sucked and nipped at her nipples.

Logan was having the time of his life watching her writhe above him...but he needed more. When he moved to lay her on her back, she quickly shook her head, "No...no...please...let me stay on top."

He looked up at her and nodded before reaching between them and unfastening his pants with one hand. He allowed his hand to brush over the moistening lips of her pussy. He moaned in approval as he felt the wetness against his fingers.

Logan put his face in her neck and inhaled deeply. He was surprised to sense something very different about her scent. Obviously, the pregnancy had altered her body's natural pheremones, but this smell was comforting...familiar...gentle.

He touched his fingers to his lips to taste her...yes...she tasted sweeter as well.

She reached down and moved her hips forward, maneuvering so that she could slide his entire length inside of her. Marie stared down into his eyes as she began slowly rolling her hips forward, "Oh...Oh Logan..."

Logan moaned and grabbed onto her ass as she continued moving atop him. He whispered her name and favored her chin, neck and jawline with wet, pecking kisses that drove her even further into her state of unbridled lust.

Marie pressed her forehead against his as she gripped onto his shoulders and moaned his name again. He could feel her tightening against him...it wouldn't be long now.

When she began shaking and trembling atop him, he allowed his concentration to falter and let his body take over. He threw his head back and cried out her name as he spilled himself inside of her.

As their trembling, pleasure-wracked bodies relaxed, he laid his head against her chest as she wrapped her arms around his head and kissed his hair, "I love you, Logan..."

He held her against him and whispered back, "Love you too, kid."

Marie smiled at the sound of the familiar pet name that only he used.

They were laying side by side on the bed as Logan laid kisses up and down Marie's arm when they heard a soft knock on the door. He growled, "What?"

Jean's voice was came through the door, "It's me."

Logan groaned and moved off of the bed to get dressed. He handed Marie a robe, then went to the door and opened it once she was decent, "Come in."

She stepped in with raised brows, obviously realizing what had been going on in the room before she entered, "Sorry...didn't mean to interrupt. The professor wanted to see you guys downstairs."

Marie nodded and smiled politely, "OK."

Logan just crossed his arms, "What's up?"

She pursed her lips together, "It's best that we just talk downstairs..."

Marie and Logan traded looks as the telepath left the room.

When they arrived in the professor's office, they were surprised to see Storm, Hank and Scott there as well.

Logan furrowed his eyebrows, "What's going on here?"

"Victor survived his fight with Logan and now he's actively looking for you, Marie. Thanks to Jean, he no longer has a powerful telepath on his side, so it will be easier to hide you. Unfortunately for us, he still has plenty of resources at his disposal...we need to move you now. He's desperate to find you."

Marie stuttered, "Wha-what about the paternity test?"

Jean stepped forward, "Before finding out that Victor is in fact, still alive, we had planned on taking you to the Women's Medical Center in White Plains for the test...but he'd be able to track you down from there. An amniocentesis is a very sensitive procedure and, if not done in the proper arena, by a properly trained professional, it could pose a serious risk to you, Marie. Now, Hank and I are general practitioners. We know how to provide basic obstetrical and gynecological care...but we can't perform an amniocentesis."

She sat down on the couch and looked down at her hands, "So, what does that mean for me...and the baby?"

The professor, Jean, Scott, Storm and Hank traded looks. Charles slowly wheeled forward, "If there's no child to come after...he will stop pursuing you. According to the documents, his window of opportunity to conceive his son is closed."

Logan was trembling in rage now. He suddenly stood, "You can't find a way to give her that fucking amnio-whatever test, but an abortion...you can manage to secure?"

Jean raised a hand, "Logan, calm down-"

"You calm down! She's been through a lot! She was abused, choked, nearly drowned...and that baby survived. You're gonna throw away its shot at life because it _might_ have the wrong father? What if it's _my_ kid?"

Charles sighed, "Logan...Jean checked with several facilities. The results take weeks...sometimes months to receive back. By the time we are able to have the test done and get the results back, it may be too late for her to terminate. Most doctors don't perform late second trimester abortions unless there's a serious issue with the fetus or a major risk to the mother's health. Should we really risk this? This is the fate of the world we're talking about."

Marie suddenly jumped up from her seat and fled the room. Logan took a brief moment to snarl disgustedly at the people gathered in the office before running after her.

He found her on a balcony, sobbing into her hands. He pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head, "Shhh...it's OK...it's OK..."

She shook her head and broke away from him as she spoke with a raised, trembling voice, "N-no it's not! It's not alright! What if this baby is Victor's? What if I just decide to ignore the possibilities and I give birth to the destroyer of the world?"

He didn't answer. He just shook his head and pulled her against him, desperately attempting to calm her shaking body, "Tell me what you want to do."

There was a long moment of silence as he waited for her to calm down. She slowly lifted her head from his chest and whispered, "We can have kids later...when the timing's right...right?"

Logan's heart clenched in his chest as he nodded. He put on a brave face and stroked her cheeks, "Sure...sure thing, kid...all the babies you want."

When Marie pulled it together enough, he led her back to the office.

Just before opening the door to lead her in, he looked her in the eyes, "You're sure about this...I mean...you're not letting them influence you, right? I want this to be your decision, Marie."

She took a deep, shivering breath, then nodded.

In the office, she bravely looked everyone in the eyes and made her announcement, "I know that this situation is bigger than me...than Logan...than all of us. I also understand that, if this child is Victor's...by deciding to have him, I could be putting our world at risk...so I've decided to...to...end the pregnancy."

She rushed out of the room as soon as she finished the sentence. Logan was hot on her heels.

When the two were gone, most of the remaining senior X Men members let out sighs of relief. Charles shook his head, "No one wins in this situation...least of all Marie."

Scott shook his head, "I wish she had more time to decide. I think she was looking forward to having that baby. I heard her saying she thought it might be a girl."

Charles shook his head, "The prophecy was very strict about the gender. It's definitely a boy..."

Jean sat down and rubbed her temple, "I tried to find a place that would perform the test...but the result turn around time was, on average, two months. Too bad things aren't as simple as they make them look on those stupid crime scene shows..."

* * *

They'd made an appointment at a clinic in New Jersey for the following week...on the exact day Marie marked 17 weeks of pregnancy. She was just entering into her second trimester.

While staying with Victor, she read that the second trimester was the "golden age" of pregnancy.

It included fewer bouts of nausea, lower fatigue levels, appetite return...and movement. Movement that Marie had consistently tried to ignore.

Sure...at this point, it still felt like nothing more than bubbles, but she knew exactly what it was. During the past few days, she found her hand absently drifting down to her slightly rounded belly, and lovingly rubbing it in small circles. As soon as she caught herself doing it, she'd break into uncontrollable sobs.

Jean, Logan and Hank took her to the women's clinic and checked her in, leaving her alone with the nurse and physician's assistant as they got her ready and fitted her with IVs. She glanced over at the large machine on the side of the room, "Is that an ultrasound machine?"

The nurse nodded, "Brand new, state-of-the-art with 3D capabilities. We had to come in for a three hour seminar to learn how to work it...didn't even get paid overtime."

Marie swallowed hard, "I know it's not a part of the plan...but...before we do anything...I want to see it."

"You want to see the baby before the procedure?"

She nodded, making the physician's assistant and nurse worriedly look at each other. The nurse started to protest, but Marie quickly cut her off, "I am losing this baby. I've come to grips with that fact...but I want to at least be able to have an accurate picture of what it looked like when I dream of it..."

"Hon, I know how difficult this decision must be for you, but I don't think that's a good idea-"

Marie shook her head and held up a hand, "I know you're used to dealing with women who have had to make this difficult decision for various reasons...but I assure you, my situation is extremely unique."

The two uniformed women nodded sympathetically, looked at each other and silently finished getting Marie ready for her procedure before sitting her on the bed beside the ultrasound machine.

The nurse started up the machine and squirted some gel onto her belly before placing the wand on her stomach.

Meanwhile, Logan sat in the corner of the waiting room with his head in his hands while Jean and Hank watched him sadly. Soon, he was joined by Jean, who put a gentle hand on his shoulder, "Logan-"

His face was bright red when he looked up, "Just...don't talk to me right now, k?"

Of course, the telepath didn't heed his request. She sighed, "You really love her, don't you?"

Logan gave a slow nod before clasping his hands together, "I woulda loved our kid too."

Jean nodded and put a gentle hand on his shoulder, silently coaxing him to express his feelings. It worked, because before he knew it, he was actually talking to her, "When I was in Laughlin City, there was this waitress who worked with Marie. She got pregnant by one of the truckers who used to stop through and try to face me in the cage...he had the worst natural scent of anyone I ever met. Like this shitty mix of musk and bacon" That earned a small chuckle from Jean before he continued, "After the waitress got pregnant, the baby started making her scent change, so she smelled more like the guy. From then on, no matter what, Marie had to bring me my food. That's when I started actually talking to her...instead of just watching her."

She furrowed her eyebrows a little, "Did you...did you smell Victor on Marie?"

Logan shook his head and ran his hands through his hair, "Nah...she smells perfect...even better than I remembered. If that's possible."

"Do pregnant women you know always take on the scent of their baby's father?"

He sat back, "Well, I never really made it a point to hang around pregnant women, but when it comes down to it, it makes perfect sense. When a female is mated, it's only natural that the baby starts to change her pheremones to make her smell more like her mate. That way, her mate can more easily identify her smell and other males can recognize who she belongs to."

Jean blinked confusedly, "...and Marie smells better to you now? Shouldn't her scent be less appealing now if she's carrying Victor's baby?"

Logan nodded slowly as the realization dawned on him. He suddenly jumped up and began rushing toward the double doors that led to the treatment rooms in the back of the clinic...hopefully, he wasn't too late.

Five minutes prior, Marie was watching a 3D image of her baby on the screen. She dabbed at her eyes with tissue the nurse had provided and pointed at the screen, "Is that his hand?"

The nurse nodded, then looked at Marie, "His?"

Marie sniffled, "Everyone swears it's a boy..."

The nurse looked at her carefully, "Do you want to know for sure? Typically, we don't attempt to determine gender until the 18th week, but you're close and this is a pretty advanced machine..."

Marie bit her lip and nodded, "Yes."

The nurse began maneuvering the wand around Marie's stomach, working to get the proper angle to see between the baby's legs. Soon, her eyes widened as she smiled sadly at Marie, "Everyone was wrong...this is definitely a girl."

Marie blinked, "What? A girl? You're sure?"

"Absolutely. There is NOTHING between those legs, see?"

Marie squinted at the image for a few moments before the baby squirmed a little, effectively blocked the view of her lady parts.

"Oh God...it's a girl...it's supposed to be a boy...if it's not a boy it's-"

"Marie!" Logan yelled as he came charging into the room with Hank, Jean and some medical personnel on his heels.

"Logan! What are you doin'?"

He panted and approached her bedside, "Did they-did they do it yet?"

Marie shook her head as tears began forming in her eyes, "No..."

Logan breathed a heavy sigh of relief, "Oh thank god...Marie...the baby's mine. Your smell-"

"I know!" she blurted, cutting him off.

He straightened and looked at her confusedly, "You know? How do you know?"

Marie pointed at the screen, "It's a girl."

Logan followed her eyes to the screen, where a perfect picture of their baby's tiny face was, "A girl..."

"Wait...what about my smell?"

"The baby is making you smell like me. That's why you smell so good to me."

Marie wiped some tears off her face, "That's a little narcissistic, don't ya think?"

"It makes sense though. We're attracted to things that remind us of ourselves the most..."

She sniffled, "Why wouldn't Victor recognize that I smelled like you?"

"Maybe his sense of smell isn't as strong...or maybe he's never been around pregnant women, so he doesn't know how they're supposed to smell. Either way, we need to go...now."

An hour later, they returned to the mansion. The professor, Scott and Storm were surprised to see that Marie was still pregnant.

After convincing the professor that his theory was correct, Marie sprang the gender of the baby on them. That was what ultimately won everyone over. Every document they'd read had been extremely strict about the sex of the baby. Romulus would return as a male. No "ifs, ands or buts" about it.

The fact that Marie was carrying a girl was a sure sign that Logan was the father. Now...they just had to find a way to eliminate Victor, who was the only thing standing between Marie, Logan and their baby's happy, safe future.

By the afternoon, it was decided that half of the senior team members and some of the junior X Men, would escort Marie and Logan to a safe house located in Atlanta. It was a condo located in the heart of the city, hidden in plain sight among dozens of sky scrapers and millions of people. Marie's eyes lit up as soon as they crossed the Mason Dixon line. It was obvious she felt more at home in the south...maybe she would be safer here too.

* * *

**Review please!**


	12. Chapter 12

When they reached the building, which was a mix of luxurious residential condos and boutique hotel rooms, they sat in the lobby, waiting to be escorted to their new spaces. Logan and Marie were to stay in a condo at one of the top levels of the building, while team members were booked in hotel suites and studios surrounding them.

Scott and Jean were to stay in a suite beside them while Peter, Bobby and Kitty were set up in their own studio apartments one level below. Jubilee, Storm and Hank stayed behind with the other team members to protect the mansion in case Victor showed up there first.

The property manager of the building came up to them in the lobby to welcome them. When Jean and Hank spotted him, they favored him with hugs and signs of affection that seemed more appropriate for a long lost family member, rather than total stranger.

Scott looked slightly uncomfortable.

Jean pulled back from the hug while still holding the young man's upper arms, "Oh my god, Alex! What are you doing here? We haven't heard from you in years!"

The man who could now be identified as "Alex" smiled and shrugged, "You know me... I go where the jobs are..." Alex's voice slowly trailed off before he turned to Scott, who Logan realized, had said nothing, "Hey Scott..."

The leader cleared his throat, "Alex..."

"How's life as a superhero?"

"Fine", he said quickly before looking at Jean and kissing her cheek, "I'm going to the room."

As soon as the elevator doors were closed, Alex tried to brush off the hurt on his face and turned back to everyone else, "We've got a 24 hour concierge and doorman, so no one suspicious will get through those doors."

Logan furrowed his eyebrows, "How do you-"

Hank broke in, "Alex is one of the the school's earliest students. The professor enlisted his help and filled him in on everything."

Alex nodded in agreement, "Feel free to let me know if you guys need anything at all."

As Alex left, Jean gave him one last hug before saying something about catching dinner, then joined Logan, Marie and Hank on the elevator.

Logan shifted his weight, "So...what else crawled up Scott's ass and died?"

Jean's smiled faded as Hank spoke up, "Alex is Scott's brother."

Marie and Logan's eyes widened as they stuttered in unison, "Wait...what? Scooter has a brother?"

"They always had a...a strained relationship. Alex and I dated for a while...some things happened, then Alex decided to go away to college and forgo life as an X Man. He stayed in contact with the professor."

When the elevator doors opened and they went their separate ways, Marie and Logan couldn't wait to gossip about Scott's long lost, much more likable brother.

* * *

Marie stared out over the city as Logan set their bags down. She smiled as she felt his hands snake around her waist and kiss her neck, "You OK?"

She nodded and put a hand over his as it touched her belly, "Yeah. I'm OK..."

Logan turned her around so that he could stare into her eyes, "This'll be over soon. I promise."

Marie took his face in her hands and smiled, "I'm so happy I'm havin' your baby...and not just because if I wasn't, I'd be havin' some evil spawn. I'm happy cause I genuinely wanna have a family with you."

He laid a gentle kiss on her lips, "I'm not gonna let him keep us from being happy."

She nodded just before he began hungrily kissing her. He led her to the bedroom, where he promptly undressed her and made slow, gentle love to her.

When their passions were sated, Logan got up, took a shower, then got dressed and told Marie he was going to go grocery shopping. He went next door to let Jean and Scott know he was leaving Marie alone and within ten minutes of his departure, Jean arrived to keep Marie company while Logan was gone.

It was understood that, this time, Marie wouldn't be left alone at any time.

Marie exited the bedroom after her shower to find Jean channel surfing, "Hey, you're fillin' in as babysitter?"

Jean glanced up and smiled, "Guess so. Settling in OK?"

She nodded and took a seat on the couch, "Yeah, Scott's not missin' you?"

The red head dropped the remote on the couch and put her head back, "Gah...he's acting weird...the way he always does when Alex is around."

"Yeah...I was gonna ask about that. What's goin' on there?"

Jean gave Marie a long look before finally relaxing and breathing out, "When we were kids, the three of us were inseparable. Charles actually called us the three musketeers."

"Then what happened?"

"Then...we grew up. Alex and I...it's a long story."

Marie smirked, "I don't really have any plans. Do you?"

Jean laughed softly, "Well...Alex didn't want to be a hero. He didn't want to have the weight of the world resting on his shoulders. He just wanted to live a normal life...with me. He tried to convince me that we should go away to college together...I'd become a doctor, he'd become a corporate killer and we'd live the American dream."

"That doesn't sound so bad..."

"No, it didn't. Only it's not me. Alex wanted us to hide from our powers. Pretend we aren't who we are. I think he resented being a mutant more than any of us did...even those of us whose powers don't exactly allow us to fit in with the crowd...I mean look at Scott...I've never even looked into his eyes..."

That last bit of revealed information seemed to jab at a tender spot, making her close her eyes and sigh. Marie reached over and put a comforting hand on her shoulder, "I'm sorry."

"We're mutants. It's who we are. Alex knows that, but he doesn't allow it to have a place in his life as it is. I'm sure none of the people he works or socializes with realize that. We separated on good terms though, but Scott felt betrayed...let down. He expected his brother to help him lead the X Men."

"Do you still love Alex?"

Jean's eyes flicked to Marie, then to the window. There was a long, uncomfortable moment of silence as Jean looked down, "It's been a long time..."

All too soon, Logan walked into the apartment, effectively ending Marie and Jean's in-depth conversation. She patted Marie on the leg and stood, "I'll be getting out of your hair now. You two have a good night."

"Night Jean", Logan said as he put away groceries. Marie yawned and went into the bedroom, where she laid down and began dozing.

He brought her a sandwich and a bowl of soup, "You need to eat, baby."

Marie did so happily before falling into a troubled sleep. Logan laid beside her, watching her. He thought about how close he came to losing her...to losing both of them as he reached over and rubbed a hand over her belly.

"Best defense is a good offense..." he murmured.

He stayed up late that night, wondering how he was going to find Victor so that he could finish the job he started in that cave several weeks ago.

That was the only way Marie and their baby would ever be safe...

* * *

Two and a half months after their initial arrival in Atlanta, Bobby and Kitty returned to Westchester and were promptly replaced by Hank and Storm.

Marie seemed relaxed there...happy even. Not only had they settled back into playing Scrabble, Clue and Monopoly, they had the opportunity to go out and see the sights, eat at new restaurants and even go to the movies. Her situation there was a far cry from the isolated prison Victor kept her in.

Her only quarrel was that Logan didn't like worrying her with the details concerning Victor's whereabouts or potential plans to find her.

It came to a head one evening, after Logan had taken her to dinner. He sat down on the couch and sipped on a beer as he stared out the large, floor-to-ceiling windows.

Marie spoke as she pulled a bottle of water out of the refrigerator, "I had another dream last night, Logan."

He sat the beer down and furrowed his eyebrows. He knew that, ever since her initial meeting with Victor, he ruthlessly haunted her thoughts and dreams. It had been the mental scar the now dead Emma Frost left her with that she just couldn't seem to heal from.

Logan pulled her into an embrace and kissed her forehead, "I know you're strong enough to block these dreams baby..."

She shook her head and pulled away before looking up into his eyes, "It's not just the stuff Emma did! It's knowing he's still out there! Coming after me...coming after our baby. What if he finds me Logan? What would he do if he found out he's not the father of my baby?"

He took her face in his hands and looked her in the eye, "That is not gonna happen...you hear me? Don't even think like that."

Once again, she pried away from him as she tried to blink away the memory of being under Victor's lock and key.

"You don't know how ruthless he is. He killed his assistant with his bare hands right in front of me. He's crazy! God only knows what he'd do to our child!"

Logan turned her around, "Marie, listen to me." She reluctantly looked into his eyes as he stroked her arms, "Now...I'm not sayin' that it is gonna happen...but if Victor does take you...lie Marie. Lie like our baby's life depends on it...cause it will. If he finds out that the baby isn't his, he won't hesitate to kill both of you."

Marie pursed her lips and nodded, "OK." Logan kissed her and turned away to sit back down, but she stopped him by asking him the question she knew he didn't want to answer, "Do you know where he is?"

He turned back to her and looked her square in the eye, "Not exactly, but I'm working on it. I know he's looking for you, but that's all I want you to know. You shouldn't be worrying so much."

"Logan! The dreams make me worry more than anything else! I keep thinking I'm going to wake up beside him instead of you..."

Logan shook his head, "Not gonna happen baby. I'm gonna do everything I can to keep you safe."

Marie nodded as he enveloped her in a gentle embrace. As she laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes, she heard a deep, different voice rumble through his chest, "I'm going to keep you...and my son, very very safe."

She recognized that voice...

Marie snatched away from the embrace and looked down at herself...she was no longer pregnant, and the man that stood before her was definitely not Logan. She stumbled backwards, "Victor?"

He grinned toothily and suddenly raised a clawed hand. Just as it came down to slash at her, Marie screamed bloody murder and sat up in bed.

Logan grabbed her shoulders to keep her from jumping up and hurting herself, "Shhhh baby...you're OK. I'm here."

She recoiled from his touch and looked at him carefully before slowly relaxing and allowing him to pull her into his arms, "Same dream?"

Marie let out a breath and nodded as Logan kissed her forehead and closed his eyes tight. Several times a week, she'd have the same awful dream where Logan would suddenly turn into Victor during one of the random conversations they'd actually had in real life, then she'd look down to realize she was no longer pregnant and he'd kill her.

The closer she got to giving birth, the worst the dreams got, it seemed.

Fed up with her not being able to sleep properly, Logan put in a call to the professor for help with her dreams. Upon hearing of Marie's night terrors and paralyzing fear of Victor, he took a weekend trip down to Atlanta.

Emma had "scrambled" Marie's mutation trigger, turning it off and hiding it from her within her own mind. The professor thought that, during his visit, he could help Marie control some of the dreams and repair the damage the enemy telepath had done to her mutation control. He deduced that she would feel better if she had some form of defense against Victor just in case she did get taken again.

After two days of intensive psychotherapy on Jean and the professor's part, Marie was finally able to operate her mutation again, but only some of her fears concerning Victor were quelled.

On the last day of the professor's visit, while Marie was napping, Logan was saying his goodbyes to him, "Thanks for the help. You know how important it is that she sleeps...ya know...for the baby."

The professor nodded and smiled sagely, "Of course, Logan."

Just as Charles started to wheel back toward Jean and Scott's suite next door, Logan stepped out into the hallway, "Isn't there more you could do to help with her dreams? Can't you just make her forget?"

"I could-"

"Then do it. I can't-I can't take hearing her scream like that. Seeing her so afraid...so terrorized...it does somethin' to me..."

Logan lowered his head and let out a breath as the professor rolled back over, "I made the suggestion to Marie right after I arrived. I told her I could take the painful memories away. I told her I could take away every single nightmare she could ever have about Victor and her experiences with him away, but there would be a catch."

"What catch?"

"Wiping her memories of Victor would also rob her of her memories of you and your time together. She said there was no way she would ever want to live without remembering you and what you share."

With that, the professor turned his chair around and wheeled away, leaving Logan standing in the hallway, dumbfounded.

He didn't know how long he was standing there before he finally returned to the condo and walked into the bedroom, where Marie was still napping.

Logan sat down on the edge of the bed and brushed her hair off of her forehead. She moaned and slowly blinked her eyes open before smiling up at him, "Hey..."

"Hey. Didn't mean to wake you."

She shook her head and slowly sat up, "S'ok. How long was I out for?"

"An hour an a half."

Marie cocked her head to the side, "Something wrong?"

Logan briefly shook his head before standing, "You hungry?"

"Uh...yeah", she said as she watched him quizzically. He walked out of the room and into the kitchen where he opened the refrigerator and began searching for something for her to eat.

Marie soon followed and sat down on the opposite side of the kitchen island as he continued to do everything he could to avoid eye contact with her.

"Logan, are you sure you're OK?"

". I'm OK."

She eyed him for a moment, then finally relaxed, "Alright. The professor left already?"

"Yeah. He's sorry he missed you, but I'm sure we'll see him again soon."

Marie rubbed the side of her belly as the baby favored her with a few kicks. She sighed, "I guess I'm not the only one who's hungry."

Logan shut the refrigerator door, "There's nothin' here babe. Want take out?"

She nodded, "Sure, what are my options?"

He rooted around the kitchen, gathering up various take out menus before going through them and placing them on the counter, "Let's see...we got Italian, Cantonese, marry me, Mexican and a sandwich place."

Marie blinked and shook her head, "I'm sorry...what was that?"

"What was what? I was just going over menus with you. Do you have any idea what you're in the mood for?"

She brushed off the questions in her mind and picked up the Chinese food menu in front of her, "I think I want some fried rice, orange chicken and-"

"Why Marie!"

Marie jumped and looked up at him, "What? Is the orange chicken at this place bad?"

He let out a sigh and shook his head as he tossed the menu down, "Why didn't you take the easy way out? Huh? Why wouldn't you let the professor help you? I'm not worth it!"

She sighed, "Fine. Maybe you're not worth it...but I know WE'RE worth it. Come 'ere..." Marie held a hand out as he hesitantly walked over and took her fingers in his. She guided his hand to her belly and looked into his eyes, "She's worth it. Logan, I fell in love with you while I was literally running for my life. Can't you recognize how amazing that is? It's unbelievable! I wouldn't believe it if I didn't live it. When this little girl grows up and asks me how we fell in love, I wanna be able to tell her the whole, unbelievable story."

Logan looked into her eyes, "Well...maybe I'm worth it a little."

Marie playfully swatted at him, then yanked him into a loving kiss. He gently held her turned up chin in his hand as the kiss grew more heated and hungered. She moaned into his mouth as he lifted her from her seat and gently guided her back to the bedroom.

Once there, he carefully stripped her out of her clothes and laid her down before gently parting her knees and diving his face into her soft, sweet mound. He ran his tongue up her slit, making her gasp and writhe in pleasure as he continued sucking and licking her quivering pussy.

"Oh god! Yes...yes...just like that...just like that..." Marie screamed as she raked her hands through his hair.

Feeling that she was wet enough, Logan favored the inside of her thigh with a gentle kiss before sitting up on his knees between her legs and thrusting himself inside of her.

She arched and froze in place for a moment before relaxing and reaching through her legs to tease her clit. Logan quickly moved her hand away and took over the ministrations, gently rubbing the sensitive flesh as he drove in and out of her.

It didn't take long before they were crying out in unison through their mutual releases.

"Ya know", she breathed, "Our daughter doesn't need to know everything about our relationship."

Logan let out a breathless laugh, then kissed her forehead, "I asked you to marry me earlier..."

"I know..."

"So?"

She smiled and kissed him, "Maybe later."

* * *

"You cheated!"

"Marie! Why would I betray your trust like that! You know how important this is to me!"

She threw the paper money down and crossed her arms in a huff. Logan had just beaten her for the first time in Monopoly and she was NOT taking it well at all.

He laughed and began putting the board game away.

For about eleven weeks, all was peaceful. So peaceful, in fact, that she began to worry. Marie knew things were going on. The many hushed conversations and secret meetings she kept stumbling upon were dead giveaways.

But she had better things to worry about. She was just under two weeks away from her due date and she had a feeling something other than the baby was coming.

Unfortunately, she was right.

After eating lunch out at one of the local restaurants, Logan and Marie were walking back to their building. Just as they reached their door, Marie heard a voice that made chills run down her back yell her name from across the street.

Logan immediately growled and snatched her into the building just after she had the opportunity to catch a glimpse of Victor, standing across the street in front of a black car. He grinned sinisterly as he watched them rush into the building.

When they were on the elevator, Marie was virtually hyperventilating. Logan snatched out his cell phone, but unfortunately, he had no service.

"Oh god! He found us!" Marie said as she put a hand on her large belly.

"Calm down...I'm not gonna let him touch you again. I promise."

He rushed to Jean and Scott's door and knocked. When Jean answered, "Logan, what's wrong?"

"He's downstairs. Call Hank, Storm, Pete, Jubes and Alex. It's only a matter of time before they strike."

As the troops convened in Logan and Marie's penthouse, Logan handed out quick assignments, "Jean, you stay with Marie. Alex, Scott and I are gonna cover the lobby. Hank, Kitty and Pete cover the service entrance. Jean's gonna be listening out for distress calls and she'll communicate any emergencies telepathically. No matter what, he does NOT reach this level."

In all the rush, no one noticed Marie place a hand on her belly and wince.

At the same time, in an abandoned building a block away, Victor was rallying his handful of troops.

"She's really close to giving birth, so I want her handled carefully. My best guess is that they have about 7 or 8 mutants in there guarding her...we'll penetrate at the loading dock and service entrance. Try not to draw too much attention and if you have to kill, make it quick and as quiet as possible. We're doing this under cover of darkness."

* * *

As soon as everyone left the room, Marie, who had been working to hide her pain, doubled over and grabbed a hold of the counter, "Oh god!"

Jean spun around to find Marie, struggling toward the couch, "Oh no...no no no...Marie! Not now!"

"Tell that to her!" Marie yelled as she pointed at her stomach and gingerly lowered herself onto the couch.

"Ok...Ok...your water hasn't-"

A rush of water from between Marie's legs cut Jean off, suddenly sending her scrambling around the apartment for bottles of water, blankets and towels.

When she settled down in front of her, she put a hand on Marie's belly, "We can only hope that you're not one of those women that flies through childbirth. Maybe I should let Logan know."

"No! Don't!" Marie screamed and grabbed Jean's arm, "I don't want to distract him. Victor almost killed him once. He needs his whole head in this fight."

The telepath nodded silently as she watched Marie whimper through another contraction.

Downstairs, Hank, Storm, Alex, Scott, Peter, Logan and Jubilee paced in their perspective locations.

"Goddammit...what's he waiting for?" he growled as Scott stood next to Alex behind the desk. Alex sighed, drawing Logan's ire, "What's his special power anyways? Selling real estate?"

"When you need to know...you'll know."

Logan received a call from Jubes, "We got movement."

"Shit! They're out back!"

They all took off running and arrived just in time to see a metallic Peter using one of Victor's henchmen as a bowling ball to knock down several of his henchmen near the service elevator.

Among the fighting, Logan's eyes scanned the small delivery platform before his eyes landed on Victor, who was just about to raise his hand to strike a distracted Storm.

He ran full speed and intercepted Victor's clawed hand with his own adamantium blades.

Victor roared in pain, then looked at Logan and smirked, "You shoulda killed me."

He slashed Logan's face and kicked him in the stomach before grabbing his hair and kneeing him in the face. He grinned and took off running toward the stairwell. Hank rushed over to help Logan up, "Come on!"

Together, they rushed up the stairwell after Victor as he leapt from staircase to staircase. Hank caught up to him first, but Victor's quick reflexes made him jump out of the way and grab Hank before tossing him back down the stairs.

Logan had to duck to miss the tumbling pile of fur that headed toward him. When Hank landed at the bottom of the stairs, he turned back, "You OK?"

"I'm fine! Keep going!"

He didn't have to be told twice. He was taking the stairs eight at a time and feeling like his lungs were about to explode by the time he tackled Victor.

They rolled down a few stairs, slashing and stabbing the whole way.

Suddenly, they heard Marie's loud, harrowing cry. Both men looked at each other...immediately realizing what that sound meant.

* * *

"Ahhhh! Shiiiiit this hurts!" Marie cried out as she gripped the blanket.

Jean nodded, "OK...you're OK Marie...you're doing good."

"Bull shit! This is horrible! There's nothing good about it!"

Again, Jean nodded, "I know, Marie. Just think about your daughter. Concentrate on her..."

"Jean! I can't hold on! I gotta push!"

The telepath checked Marie and nodded, "Oh damn...you're fully dilated." She laid out blankets and towels, "OK, Marie...push."

Marie sat up a little and pushed as hard as she could while Jean counted down from ten. Each second was harder than the last, but Marie made it to the magical number one.

"Good! Good job! Come on. Another big one. I can see the head."

As Marie bore down and pushed again, she screamed out, "Looogaaan!"

The sound of her calling his name echoed down the stairwell as Victor grabbed his neck and tried to squeeze, but Logan stuck his claws directly into his enemy's wrist and twisted, severing his hand.

Victor grabbed the wounded arm and roared, allowing Logan time to knock him on his back. As Logan leaned down to place his claws underneath his chin, Victor panted, "I don't know why you've fought me on this...why you so desperately fight on their side...trying to stop us from fulfilling our destiny.

Logan growled and jerked Victor's collar, "Us? What destiny? What the fuck do you mean!"

He smirked, "I mean our family, little brother..."

Logan shook his head and blinked, "No...no..." He suddenly became enraged and clenched his teeth as he dug his claws into Victor's shoulder, "It's not true!"

After a brief hiss of pain, Victor recovered, "It isn't? Why? Do you remember anything about your family? Do you remember anything at all about the years before that professor found you, aimlessly wandering..."

"Shut up! You don't know me!"

"I know plenty. You are a son of Romulus...the weaker, sniveling, younger one."

Logan yanked his claws out of his shoulder and aimed them at his throat, "You lie!"

"Think about it, runt. I heal, you heal. I'm fast...you're almost as fast...and we have the same taste in women."

Logan's claws pricked at the skin of his neck, "Don't you dare even think her name..."

"Oh don't worry...she'll think my name...she'll think it for the rest of her life."

He smirked, "I don't think she will, cause that prophesied kid you think she's carrying...is mine."

Victor roared loudly and thrashed, but he only succeeded in making his claws scratch against his throat.

"You will never touch her again..."

"Wanna make that a bet?" sneered Victor.

* * *

Marie screamed for longer than she thought she could hold her breath as she pushed. She felt like her entire body was being ripped in half and simultaneously set on fire from the waist down. The pain was blindingly intense and inescapable, but somehow, she managed to keep pushing while listening to Jean's commands of "Push!" and "Breathe!" somewhere in the distance.

Amidst the pain, a sudden rush of intense relief washed over her body. She panted and collapsed back against the cushions.

She heard Jean whisper, "Marie...open your eyes..."

Marie opened her eyes just in time to see Jean suctioning out the nose and mouth of a beautiful baby girl who started crying. She took great care in wiping and wrapping the baby up before handing her off to Marie.

A bleeding, healing Logan burst into the room, "Marie?"

She looked up and smiled wearily, "She's gorgeous..."

He slowly began walking in, but Jean quickly shook her head, "You need to disinfect. She's really susceptible to infection right now and the baby is...well, just go wash up. I'll finish with Marie and then go check on everyone..."

By the time Logan got out of his piping hot shower, Jean had cleaned Marie and the baby up and moved them into the bed. Scott and the rest of the team began returning and congregating in the living room as Hank and Jean attended to their wounds, which, luckily, were minor. As he approached the bed, he thought of all the things Victor said in the moments leading up to his decapitation.

_"Think about it, runt. I heal, you heal. I'm fast...you're almost as fast...and we have the same taste in women."_

Was it true? Could he be Romulus' offspring? And even if it is true...what does that mean for Marie? What does that mean for their baby?

Either way, he would do his best to keep what was said in that stairwell from Marie.

When he approached the bed and looked down into his newborn daughter's face, all the questions in his head suddenly stopped.

Before him laid a baby girl in her mother's arms. Together, they were so beautiful, they rendered him speechless.

As he gently took his daughter from Marie's arms, he smiled.

Fuck the prophecy.  
Fuck what Victor said.  
Fuck what everyone ever told him.

If the world ends because of the little girl in his arms...he'd die a happy man.

**THE END**

* * *

**Alright everyone! I'm hoping I ended this well! Please review!**

**I also wanted to mention that Karen11, who is a very awesome Rogan fic (AND Rogue/Scott) writer helped me come up with the idea for Marie's recognizable smell. Big kudos to her! You guys should totally check out her work.  
**


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